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HISTORY  OF 
OTTERBEIN 
UNIVERSITY 

BKY.  nBNKT  GARST,  DJX 


tihraxy  of  Cbe  trheolocjical  ^emmarjp 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Rufus  H.  LeFevre 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2009  witii  funding  from 

Princeton  Tlieological  Seminary  Library 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/otterbeinuniveOOgars 


IIEV.    L 


WIS  DAY  18.  D.  1). 

itceii  Yi'iiis.  President  of  Otterbein 


First  Agent  anil,  for  E-„ _  . 

University,  and  Fattier  of   Higher  Educatio 
United  Brethren  Church 


in  the 


FEB  11  1953  ^ 
T^ v55 


OTTERBEIN 
UNIVERSITY 

1847—1907 


Efb.  ^entp  <15at0t,  2D.2D. 


With  an  Introduction  by 


Nineteen  Hundred  and  SeTcn 

UNITED  BRETHREN  PUBUSHING  HOUSE 

W.  R.  Funk,  Publisher 

Dayton,  Ohio 


All  rights  reserved 

United  Brethren  I^ublishing  House 

Day.'on,  Ohio 


©ebtcatton 


To  the  memory  of  the  departed  fathers,  who, 
sixty  years  ago,  laid  the  foundations  of  Otter- 
bein  University;  to  the  many  living  and  dead, 
who,  since  the  fathers,  have  helped  either  to 
promote  the  material  welfare  of  the  institu- 
tion or  to  carry  forward  its  w^ork  of  instruc- 
tion; to  all  who,  in  any  way,  by  speech,  or 
prayer,  or  gift,  during  the  past  Sixty  Years, 
have  shared  in  the  work,  this  volume  is, 
w^ith  sincere  appreciation,  inscribed. 


PREFACE 


When  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Otterbein  University 
decided  to  observe  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  insti- 
tution by  a  suitable  celebration  at  the  commencement 
in  1907,  it,  at  the  same  time,  requested  the  writer  to  pre- 
pare a  history  of  the  university  to  be  published  in  con- 
nection with  the  celebration.  The  volume  herewith  pre- 
sented was  prepared  in  response  to  this  request  in  the 
hope  that  it  might  add  interest  to  the  occasion.  The 
fact,  however,  that  the  author  has  had  personal  knowl- 
edge of  the  work  and  fortunes  of  the  institution  for  nine- 
tenths  of  the  entire  period  of  sixty  years,  and,  with  a 
half-dozen  exceptions,  was  personally  acquainted  with 
every  one  of  the  men  and  women  who,  during  this  long 
period,  shared  in  the  work,  causes  him  to  feel  all  the 
more  keenly  how  deficient  and  inadequate  is  the  record 
presented.  To  accord  a  few  lines,  or,  at  most,  a  few 
pages  to  those  who,  through  many  years  of  faithful  and 
efficient  service,  wrought  the  best  there  was  in  them  of 
heart  and  brain,  and  life,  into  the  university  would  seem 
to  be  very  scant  justice,  but  it  was  all  that  was  possible 
in  the  limits  proposed.  He  has  endeavored  to  be  impar- 
tial and  deal  squarely  with  all  concerned.  Errors  of 
judgment  there  doubtless  are  in  the  book,  unfortunate 
omissions  there  may  be,  but  there  are  absolutely  no  in- 
tentional neglects  or  slights.  As  sources  of  informa- 
tion, other  than  those  noted  in  the  progress  of  the  nar- 
rative, the  author  has  consulted  the  minutes  of  the  board 
of  trustees,  the  files  of  the  Religious  Telescope,  the  Otter- 
hein  Record,  and  the  Aegis.  But  very  largely,  the  reader 
must  bear  in  mind,  the  facts  set  forth  are  matters  of 
personal  observation  and  recollection.  While  he  can- 
not hope  to  have  escaped  all  error  through  misappre- 
hension in  observation  or  lapse  of  memory  in  recollec- 
tion, he  believes  the  narrative  will  be  found  quite  gen- 
erally true  to  the  facts,  and  trustworthy. 

H.  G. 

Westerville,  Ohio,  May,  1907. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

Beginning  of  the  Work  of  Higher  Education 
IN  the  United  Brethren  Church.  9 

CHAPTER  II 
Stir  in  the  Conferences— Founding  of  Otter- 
BEiN    University    by    Scioto    Conference.    19 

CHAPTER  III 
Rev.  Lewis  Davis,  D.D.,  Father  of  Higher  Edu- 
cation IN  the   United    Brethren   Church.    36 

CHAPTER  IV 
Agitation  and  Debate.  49 

CHAPTER  V 
The   Opening  of    Otterbein    University   and 
Beginning  of  its  Work.  66 

CHAPTER  VI 

CO-EDTTCATION   IN   OtTERBEIN    UNIVERSITY.  79 

CHAPTER  VII 
Early  Financial  Methods  and  Struggles.  94 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Failure  of  the  Manual-Labor  Experiment  and 
Wreck    of    the    Scholarship  Endowment 
Plan.  113 

CHAPTER  IX 
Otterbein  University,  Slavery,  and  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion.  129 


CHAPTER  X 
Otterbein   University  and    Tempera noe— The 
Westervllle  Whisky  War.  145 

CHAPTER  XI 
Literary  Societies— Absence  of  Fraternities.   166 

CHAPTER  XII 
Progress  of  the  Work  Since  1860,  and  Account 
OF  Some  who  Shared  in  it.  178 

CHAPTER  XIII 
The  Church   and  Christian  Organizations  in 
Otterbein  University.  229 

CHAPTER  XIV 
Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features.  264 

CHAPTER  XV 

Early  History   of   Westerville— Its  Growth 
AND  Progress.  288 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Rev.  Lewis  Davis,  Frontispiece. 

Rev.  William  Hanby. 

Faculty  of  1859. 

Rev.  William  Slaughter. 

Rev.  Jonathan  Weaver. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Resler. 

Rev.  Henry  A.  Thompson. 

Rev.  D.  Bender. 

Rev.  D.  R.  Miller. 

Rev.  S.  M.  Hippard. 

Blown-Up  Saloon  Buildings,  1875  and  1879. 

Prof.  John  Haywood. 

Prof.  Thos.  McFadden. 

Picture  of  Four  Buildings. 

Prof.  John  E.  Guitner. 

Mrs.  Caroline  Merchant. 

Rev.  Henry  Garst. 

Solomon  Keister. 

Prof.  Thos.  J.  Sanders. 

D.  L.  RiKE. 

John  Hulitt. 

George  Scott. 

Christian  Association  and  Gymnasium  Building. 

George  A.  Lambert. 

Rev.  Lewis  Bookw alter. 

Power  House  and  Heating  Plant. 

Philip  G.  Cochran  Memorial  Hall. 

Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cochran. 

Westerville  Public  School  Building. 

Otterbein  University,  Main  Building. 

Present  Faculty. 


INTRODUCTION 


Than  the  story  of  the  founding  of  a  Christian  college, 
its  struggles,  its  trials,  and  its  triumphs,  there  is  none 
more  interesting;  none  more  profitable. 

It  calls  for  men  of  heroic  fiber,  men  of  vision,  men 
of  faith,  men  of  unselfish  devotion  to  a  high  ideal. 

Christian  education  is  fundamental  and  vital  in  the 
work  of  the  church.  If  it  is  not  the  heart,  it  is,  indeed, 
the  life-blood  that  flows  through  all  the  departments  of 
this  organism,  giving  strength,  beauty,  and  eflaciency. 
Through  a  mistaken  conception,  too  long,  far  too  long, 
this  work  was  delayed.  But  with  lapse  of  time  came 
clarified  vision  and  correct  conception,  and  three  score 
years  ago  men  of  God  laid  in  faith  and  prayer  the  foun- 
dations of  our  beloved  Otterbein.  They  builded  better 
than  they  knew. 

This  is  the  story  of  the  founding  of  a  college,  a  Chris- 
tian college,  the  evolution  of  the  thoughts,  opinions,  con- 
victions; resulting  in  deeds  great  and  heroic;  of  self- 
sacrificing  devotion  and  loyalty  seldom  surpassed.  It  is 
not  only  the  story  of  the  founding  of  a  college,  but  also 
of  the  building  and  developing  of  it  from  the  humblest 
beginnings  to  the  splendid  proportions  of  the  present; 
growth  from  two  buildings  to  seven;  from  two  teachers 
to  twenty -five;  from  gifts  of  one  dollar  in  three  annual 
installments  to  single  gifts  of  twenty,  twenty-five,  and 
thirty  thousand  dollars;  from  a  plant  costing  in  the  be- 
ginning thirteen  hundred  dollars,  and  that  all  debt,  to 
a  plant  whose  present  valuation  is  over  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  all  of  this  in  the  face  of  a  debt, 
that,  despite  all  efforts  at  liquidation,  had  for  half  a  cen- 
tury a  general  trend  upwards  till  it  reached  the  enor- 
mous sum  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  the  annual  interest  of  which  at  that  time   was 


greater  than  the  pay  roll  of  the  entire  faculty — a  veri- 
table cancer  eating  out  the  life  of  the  institution — a  mill- 
stone about  its  neck  ready  to  drown  it  in  the  sea. 

There  is  to  be  found  in  this  book  the  story  of  the 
rising  from  despair,  the  rallying  of  the  forces,  and  the 
repeated  attacks  on  this  incubus  of  debt  till  that  enemy 
was  vanquished  and  victory  achieved. 

What  the  thoughts,  what  the  conceptions  of  education 
in  the  mind  of  the  fathers;  shall  this  first  school  be  in- 
dustrial, technical,  or  liberal;  shall  it  be  open  to  all 
races,  sexes,  and  colors,  will  be  fully  set  forth  in  this 
work.  Who  were  the  builders,  both  from  within  and 
without,  will  also  be  told  here.  Here  will  be  found  a 
galaxy  of  brave  men  and  women,  our  eleventh  chapter 
of  Hebrews  worthies. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  this  story  be  put  in 
permanent  form  before  it  is  too  late,  that  it  perish  not 
from  the  earth,  but  remain  a  perpetual  blessing  and  in- 
spiration to  all  coming  generations. 

We  are  told  that  John,  the  beloved  disciple,  the  esoteric 
of  the  esoterics,  who  leaned  on  Jesus'  breast  at  the  Last 
Supper,  saw  his  glory  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration, 
was  with  him  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  stood  with 
him  at  the  cross,  out-ran  Peter  to  the  sepulcher  on  Sun- 
day morning,  and  witnessed  his  ascension  into  heaven, 
John  who  had  the  inestimable  privilege  of  being  the 
most  intimate  earthly  friend  of  Jesus,  and  had  outlived 
the  rest  of  the  disciples  and  apostles,  and  had  taught  and 
preached  the  Word  some  fifty  or  sixty  years  after  the 
ascension,  was  impelled  by  the  Spirit  and  exhorted  by  his 
disciples  and  contemporary  bishops,  before  he  went 
hence,  to  put  in  writing  what  he  for  so  long,  as  eye- 
witness, had  preached  and  taught. 

The  result  was  "the  most  influential  book  in  all  litera- 
ture," "the  pearl  of  the  Evangelic  histories,"  "the  spirit- 
ual gospel,"  "the  unique,  tender,  preeminent  gospel,"  the 
last,  the  sweetest,  the  best  in  the  sacred  cannon. 

In  like  manner  the  author  of  this  volume,  Dr.  Henry 
Garst,  moved  by  the  Spirit  and  urged  by  his  friends,  has 
set  to  himself  the  task  of  making  forever  permanent  the 
history  of  the  first  sixty  years  of  Otterbein  University. 
He  is  fitted  as  no  other  living  person  for  the  performance 
of  this  task.  He  is  an  eye-witness,  or  a  contemporary 
of  eye-witnesses,  covering  the    entire    period.     Since 


1853,  as  student,  professor,  preacher  in  cooperating 
territory,  president,  secretary,  and  treasurer,  college 
pastor,  and  as  historian,  he  has  been  most  closely  iden- 
tified with  all  its  life  and  history.  In  all  the  fifty- 
four  years  he  has  given  the  college  in  every  way  un- 
flinching loyalty  and  devotion,  and  in  all  the  great 
crises  he  has  thrown  himself,  with  all  his  splendid 
powers,  unreservedly  into  the  breach. 

He  is  a  rare  man,  great  and  good;  a  man  of  mature 
judgment,  extensive  research,  ripe  scholarship,  literary 
taste  and  ability  as  a  writer,  and,  imbued  with  the 
love  of  truth,  he  has  placed  all  lovers  of  higher  learn- 
ing, and  especially  all  friends  of  Otterbein  University, 
under  lasting  obligation  for  the  work  undertaken  and 
completed  in  this  volume. 

The  book  is  the  product  of  years  of  thought  and  pains- 
taking labor — the  ripe  fruit  and  crowning  achievement 
of  a  long  and  eminently  useful  life,  and  we  believe  it 
will  meet  the  hearty  approval  of  all  readers.  It  is 
worthy  of  a  place  in  all  our  homes. 

May  the  coming  generations  as  they  read  here  the 
story  of  self-sacrifice  and  unfaltering  devotion  to  duty, 
and  learn  at  what  great  cost  this  priceless  legacy  is  be- 
queathed to  them,  be  fired  with  a  like  holy  zeal  and 
faith  and  loyalty,  to  the  end  that  the  fathers  shall  not 
have  labored  in  vain,  but  that  our  precious  institution 
of  learning  may  be  an  ever-increasing  blessing  to 
humanity. 

T.  J.  Sanders. 


HISTORY  OF  OTTERBEIN  UNIVERSITY 


CHAPTER  I. 

Beginning  of  the  Work  of  Higher  Education  in  the  United 
Brethren  Church — Founding  of  a  College  Recommended. 

Otterbein  University  was  the  first  institution  of 
higher  education  founded  by  the  Church  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ.  As  the  pioneer  of  the 
educational  work,  its  history  is  invested  with  an 
interest  possessed  by  no  other  college  of  the 
Church.  In  1847,  when  it  was  founded,  the 
Church  had  already  existed  and  wrought  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  the  inquiry  very  naturally 
arises  why  the  work  of  higher  education  was  so 
long  delayed.  Philip  William  Otterbein,  the 
founder  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  had  been 
carefully  educated  in  Germany,  both  in  the  arts 
and  in  theology,  and  it  would  have  seemed  natural 
that  he  should  give  early  attention  to  this  work  in 
America,  and  in  connection  with  the  new  Church 
which  in  the  providence  of  God  he  was  instru- 
mental in  founding. 

To  understand  this  matter  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
sider the  conditions  as  they  existed  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  in  the  part  of  the  United  States 
in  which  the  Church  had  its  origin.  Otterbein  and 
his    associates    in   gospel    labors   were    Germans, 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

and,  as  was  to  be  expected,  devoted  their  efforts 
almost  altogether  to  the  German  population  of 
this  country.  In  that  early  day,  when  the  country 
was  yet  new,  the  people  generally  found  it  a  hard 
struggle  to  secure  the  necessities  of  life  and  main- 
tain themselves  in  comfort,  and  so  had  little  ability 
or  inclination  to  engage  in  higher  educational 
work.  The  people  whom  these  early  German 
preachers  sought  to  reach  were  largely  rural  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  very  few  of  them 
having  anything  more  than  the  most  limited  edu- 
cational training.  Laboring  among  such  a  people, 
the  necessity  and  importance  of  higher  education 
was  not  so  apparent  as  it  has  since  become.  Hard 
sense  and  a  genuine  Christian  experience  seemed 
the  matters  of  chief  importance,  and  with  these 
the  pioneers  of  that  early  day  could  go  forth  suc- 
cessfully, and  by  their  fervid  appeals  could  "stir 
whole  townships,"  as  one  expressed  it,  and  win 
large  numbers  to  Christ. 

The  prominence  of  the  reform  spirit  in  the 
Church  also  had  to  do  with  the  delay  in  taking  up 
the  educational  work.  It  is  thi?  reform  spirit,  in- 
deed, mainly,  which  accounts  for  the  existence  of 
the  Church  itself.  The  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ  bore  very  much  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  German-speaking  people  and  churches 
of  this  country  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  bore  to  the  English-speaking  people  and 
churches.  As  to  these  churches,  it  is  now  conceded 
on  all  hands  that  they  had  grown  quite  formal  and 
lifeless,  and  that  many  of  their  members  were 
leading  openly  irregular  lives.  This  was  especially 

10 


Beginning  of  Higher  Education 

true  of  some  of  the  older  and  stronger  churches,  in 
which  culture  was  most  common.  Laboring  in  such 
a  time,  and  among  such  a  people,  the  matter  of 
supreme  urgency  seemed  to  be  a  ringing  call  to  re- 
pentance and  a  good  life,  and  to  such  a  work  the 
fathers  of  the  United  Brethren  Church  gave  them- 
selves with  such  exclusive  devotion  as  afforded 
little  time  to  found  and  maintain  educational  insti- 
tutions. It  is  fair  to  add  that  some  of  these  fath- 
ers, seeing  the  churches  in  which  culture  was  most 
common  under  the  sway  of  a  lifeless  formalism, 
concluded,  in  a  not  very  logical,  but  veiy  natural 
way,  that  there  was  some  connection  between 
higher  education  and  the  spiritual  death  so  preva- 
lent in  their  day;  and  so  they  not  only  failed  to 
see  the  necessity  of  the  educational  work,  but  some 
of  them  actually  feared  it  as  hostile  to  the  spiritual 
life  and  power  of  the  Church. 

For  reasons  such  as  these  the  early  United 
Brethren  Church,  instead  of  planting  colleges, 
was  as  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness,  calling 
formal  churches  and  a  sinful  world  alike  to  repent- 
ance. By  their  earnest  and  faithful  warnings 
these  bold  and  faithful,  if  somewhat  rude  and  un- 
polished champions  of  the  gospel  awakened  to  con- 
viction and  led  to  repentance  multitudes  both  in 
and  out  of  the  churches.  This  seemed  to  them  the 
all-important  work,  and,  this  done,  they  seemed 
content,  and  for  a  long  time  did  not  even  contem- 
plate a  new  and  separate  church  organization.  In 
this  way  it  happened  that  those  who  were  won  to 
Christ  in  these  formal  churches  largely  remained 
in  communion  with  them,  while  those  who  were 

11 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

won  from  the  world  mainly  drifted  into  existing 
church  organizations.  It  was  hardly  to  be  ex- 
pected, however,  that  these  zealous  and  spiritual 
converts  would  find  congenial  and  helpful  homes 
in  these  formal  and  lifeless  churches.  Could  they 
have  done  so,  probably  there  would  have  been  no 
thought  of  a  new  church  organization.  But  lack 
of  sympathy,  at  times,  with  the  new  spirit  and  life 
of  these  converts,  positive  opposition  and  perse- 
cution at  other  times,  gradually  made  it  evident 
that  if  these  living  converts  would  enjoy  the  best 
opportunities  for  growth  and  development,  as  well 
as  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  it  must  be 
in  a  new  church  organization,  and  so  these  con- 
verts from  many  diverse  communions,  as  well  as 
from  the  world,  by  force  of  circimistances  rather 
than  by  design,  drifted  together  into  a  new  com- 
munion. 

For  many  years  the  fathers  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  put  so  little  emphasis  upon 
membership  in  the  church  in  comparison  with 
the  new  birth  and  spiritual  life,  that  compar- 
atively little  effort  was  made  to  induce  persons  to 
join  the  Church,  and  nearly  all  effort  was  directed 
to  assure  spiritual  life  and  experience.  It  was  an 
instance,  so  common  in  history,  of  one  extreme  pro- 
ducing an  opposite  extreme.  When  our  fathers 
observed  the  disproportionate  importance  at- 
tached to  mere  membership  in  the  church,  which 
led  multitudes  to  rest  content  with  such  member- 
ship, though  destitute  of  all  true  Christian  exper- 
ience, it  produced  a  revulsion  which  led  them  to 
underrate  the  importance  of  membership  in  the 

12 


Beginning  of  Higher  Education 

church,  if  only  there  were  spiritual  life  and  exper- 
ience. The  latter  is  undoubtedly  a  far  less  mis- 
chievous error  than  the  former,  yet  it  is  an  error, 
the  mischief  of  which  appeared  in  the  fact  that  the 
growth  of  the  new  Church  was  not  at  all  commen- 
surate with  the  success  of  those  faithful  evangel- 
ists in  winning  souls  to  Christ.  This  kept  the 
Church  numerically  and  organically  weak,  and  so 
delayed  entrance  upon  the  work  of  higher  educa- 
tion. After  more  than  a  half  century  of  toil,  dur- 
ing which  there  were  many  and  sweeping  revivals, 
in  which  multiplied  thousands  were  won  to  Christ, 
the  Church  numbered  barely  30,000  members, 
while  there  was  no  connectional  institution  except 
a  small  publishing  house,  located  at  Circleville, 
Ohio. 

Times,  however,  were  beginning  to  change.  The 
forests  were  being  cleared  away  and  the  country 
settled.  Towns  and  cities  were  springing  up, 
the  public  school  system  was  taking  form,  and  edu- 
cation was  becoming  more  prevalent  and  common. 
The  Church  was  coming  to  a  definite  conscious- 
ness of  a  broad  and  permanent  mission,  and  when 
the  more  sagacious  of  the  fathers  were  beginning 
to  realize  that  no  distinctively  German  church  or- 
ganization in  this  country  was  destined  to  be  per- 
manent, the  labors  of  the  Church  began  to  pass 
rapidly  from  the  German  to  the  English-speaking 
people  of  the  country.  The  problems  before  the 
Church  were  becoming  larger  and  more  difiicult, 
and  it  was  becoming  very  apparent  that  if  the 
Church  would  deal  with  these  problems  and  con- 

13 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

tinue  an  efficient  evangelizing  agency,  she  must 
enter  upon  the  work  of  higher  education. 

This  necessity  was  further  impressed  upon  the 
fathers  of  the  Church  by  what  they  saw  going  on 
about  them.  Other  churches  were  founding  col- 
leges in  the  territory  in  which  they  were  laboring. 
This  was  especially  true  in  Ohio,  in  which  the 
United  Brethren  Church  began  her  labors  at  the 
very  beginning  of  the  last  century.  In  this  State, 
besides  the  two  State  institutions,  Ohio  Univer- 
sity at  Athens,  and  Miami  University  at  Oxford, 
the  Episcopalians  had  founded  Kenyon  College  at 
Gambier,  the  Presbyterians,  Western  Reserve  Col- 
lege at  Hudson,  the  Congregationalists,  Oberlin 
College  at  Oberlin  and  Marietta  College  at  Mar- 
ietta, the  Baptists,  Denison  University  at  Gran- 
ville, the  Lutherans,  Wittenburg  College  at 
Springfield,  and  the  Episcopal  Methodists,  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University  at  Delaware.  Most  of  these 
colleges  were  founded  but  a  few  years  before  Otter- 
bein University,  and  it  is  plain  that  in  Ohio  at 
least  the  work  of  founding  colleges  was  in  the  air, 
and  it  is  not  strange  that  the  agitation  began  to 
stir  in  the  United  Brethren  Church.  This  agita- 
tion was  intensified  by  the  fact  that  the  youth  of 
the  Church,  in  increasing  numbers,  were  finding 
their  way  into  these  colleges  of  other  churches,  and 
in  not  a  few  instances  were  being  drawn  into  the 
communions  whose  colleges  they  attended.  It  be- 
gan to  be  plain  to  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  that  to  enter  upon  the  work  of 
higher  education  was  not  simply  a  question  of  use- 
fulness, but  of  self-preservation. 

14 


Beginning  of  Higher  Education 

And  yet  to  these  Church  fathers,  uneducated 
themselves,  and  wholly  inexperienced  in  such 
work,  with  a  membership  not  only  so  limited,  but 
widely  scattered  from  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
and  Virginia  on  the  east,  to  Michigan  and  Iowa 
on  the  west,  with  no  members  of  large  wealth,  and 
the  mass  of  the  members  positively  poor,  the  work 
of  founding  a  college  must  have  seemed  quite  for- 
midable. But  this  limited  and  scattered  member- 
ship, with  dearth  of  resources,  was  not  the  only 
or  the  most  serious  difficulty  to  be  encountered  in 
founding  a  college.  After  several  generations  of 
inactivity  in  educational  work  there  was  not  only 
no  experience  in  such  work,  but  little  sentiment  in 
its  favor.  The  Church  had  settled  down  into  a 
fearful  inertia,  an  indifference  which  was  likely  to 
be  stirred  to  hostility  when  active  efforts  in  the 
work  of  higher  education  should  begin.  In  such  a 
situation,  if  men,  even  of  the  highest  culture  and 
widest  experience,  had  gone  forward  in  the  work, 
they  would  have  deserved,  and  doubtless  would 
have  received  our  admiration  and  praise.  What 
measure  of  admiration  and  praise,  then,  shall  we 
accord  to  these  fathers  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church  who,  without  culture  and  experience, 
braved  all  difficulties  and  went  heroically  forward 
in  the  work  of  higher  education.  Among  these 
fathers  none  are  more  worthy  of  mention  than 
Rev.  Lewis  Davis  and  Rev.  William  Hanby,  both 
members  of  Scioto  Annual  Conference.  To  the  for- 
mer of  these,  by  very  general  consent,  is  accorded 
the  honorable  position  of  founder  of  Otterbein 
University,  and  father  of  the  educational  work  of 

15 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  Church.  The  latter  was  one  of  the  earliest, 
most  trusted,  and  helpful  associates  in  the  work. 
The  relation  of  these  fathers  to  the  educational 
work  will  be  set  forth  later. 

Formidable  as  the  work  of  founding  a  college 
must  have  appeared  to  these  fathers,  yet  they 
found  it  a  much  larger  and  more  difficult  task  than 
they  had  anticipated  when  they  undertook  it.  In 
their  inexperience,  their  ideas  of  what  constituted 
a  college,  and  the  amount  of  money  required  to 
establish  and  maintain  it,  were  very  inadequate.  It 
is  doubtless  well  that  it  was  so,  or  they  might  have 
shnmk  from  the  undertaking.  The  light  came  as 
they  could  bear  it,  and  after  they  were  committed 
to  the  work  beyond  honorable  retreat. 

It  was  at  the  General  Conference  which  con- 
vened at  Circleville,  Ohio,  in  May,  1845,  that  the 
first  official  action  in  relation  to  founding  an  in- 
stitution of  learning  was  taken  by  the  Church. 
This  General  Conference  was  the  ninth  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  the  first  having  been  held  in 
1815.  The  second  was  held  in  1817,  after  an  in- 
terval of  but  two  years.  Between  this  and  all  sub- 
sequent General  Conferences  there  is  an  interval 
of  four  years.  In  the  General  Conference  of  1845, 
nine  annual  conferences  were  represented  by 
twenty-four  ministerial  delegates.  There  were  also 
four  bishops,  Jacob  Erb,  Henry  Kumler,  Sr., 
Henry  Kumler,  Jr.,  (father  and  son),  and  John 
Coons,  all  of  them  from  Ohio  except  Bishop  Erb, 
who  was  from  Pennsylvania. 

As  it  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  know  who 
the    men    were    who    first,    in    an    official    way, 

16 


Beginning  of  Higher  Education 

discussed  and  passed  upon  the  subject  of 
higher  education  in  the  United  Brethren  Church, 
their  names  and  the  conferences  they  repre- 
resented,  are  here  inserted :  Virginia  Conference 
was  represented  by  J.  J.  Glossbrenner,  J.  Mark- 
wood,  and  J.  Bachtel;  Pennsylvania  Conference, 
by  John  Russell ;  Allegheny  Conference,  by  J.  R. 
Sitman,  J.  Ritter,  and  John  Reiter;  Muskingum 
Conference,  by  A.  Biddle,  J.  McGaw,  and  W.  W. 
Simpkins ;  Wabash  Conference,  by  John  Hoobler, 
Josiah  Davis,  and  John  Denham;  Scioto  Confer- 
ence, by  J.  Montgomery,  E.  Vandemark,  and 
M.  Ambrose;  Sandusky  Conference,  by  H.  G. 
Spayth,  George  Hiskey,  and  J.  Brown ;  Miami 
Conference,  by  George  Bonebrake,  F,  Whitcom, 
and  John  Crider;  Indiana  Conference,  by  Henry 
Bonebrake  and  J.  A.  Ball.  All  these  representa- 
tives have  passed  on  to  their  reward,  the  last  sur- 
vivor, Alexander  Biddle,  having  died  at  Gallon, 
Ohio,  in  February,  1899. 

It  was  Rev.  E.  Vandemark,  a  representative 
from  the  Scioto  Conference,  who  brought  the  sub- 
ject of  higher  education  before  the  General  Con- 
ference by  offering  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  proper  measures  be  adopted  to 
establish  an  institution  of  learning. 

Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  an- 
nual conferences. 

After  earnest  discussion  these  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  nineteen  yeas  and  five  nays, 
as  follows : 

Yeas — J.  J.  Glossbrenner,  J.  Markwood,  J. 
Bachtel,  J.  Ritter,  J.  R.  Sitman,  J.  Reiter,  Alex- 

2  17 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ander  Biddle,  E.  Vandemark,  Joshua  Montgom- 
ery, Mathias  Ambrose,  H.  G.  Spayth,  George 
Hiskey,  J.  Brown,  George  Bonebrake,  Francis 
Whitcom,  Henry  Bonebrake,  J.  A.  Ball,  Josiah 
Davis,  John  Denham — 19. 

l!^ays — J.    McGaw,    W.    W.    Simpkins,    John 
Crider,  John  Hoobler,  and  H.  Kumler,  Sr. — 5. 


18 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 


CHAPTEK  II. 

Stir   in    Several   Conferences — Founding   of   Otterbein    Uni- 
versity by  the   Scioto  Conference. 

The  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1845, 
authorizing  and  recommending  the  founding  of  a 
college,  was  speedily  followed  by  an  active  canvass 
in  a  number  of  the  annual  conferences.  The  Gen- 
eral Conference  in  its  action  had  but  given  expres- 
sion to  the  thoughts  of  a  number  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Church  in  the  annual  conferences.  These 
leaders  were  like  soldiers  ready  for  battle  waiting 
for  the  word  of  command  from  an  authoritative 
source,  and  now  that  the  General  Conference  had 
authorized  the  work,  they  began  promptly  to  agi- 
tate and  plan  for  its  accomplishment.  The  action 
of  the  General  Conference  plainly  and  wisely  con- 
templated the  founding  at  the  time  of  but  one  col- 
lege for  the  whole  Church,  but,  unfortunately,  as 
it  now  seems,  imposed  no  restriction  to  this  end. 
The  recommendation  was  given  to  the  annual  con- 
ferences indiscriminately,  of  which  there  were 
nine  represented  in  the  General  Conference  of 
1845,  and  five  more  were  projected  before  the  Con- 
ference adjourned,  making  the  entire  number 
fourteen. 

Had  the  General  Conference  exercised  its 
authority  to  limit  the  work  of  the  founding  of 
only   one   college,   the   United   Brethren    Church 

19 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

would  have  been  spared  tlie  bitter  and  costly  expe- 
rience of  learning  the  lesson  which  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Chvirch  had  learned  a  little  earlier  and 
som.e  other  churches  learned  later,  that  it  is  very 
unwise  to  attempt  to  found  more  colleges  than 
there  is  ability  or  disposition  to  sustain.  The  rec- 
ommendation, however,  was  without  restriction 
except  that  debts  were  to  be  avoided,  a  restriction 
which  is  sure  to  fail  when  too  many  colleges  are 
projected.  The  agitation  to  found  a  college  in  the 
United  Brethren  Church  began  at  about  the  same 
time,  but  without  much  concert  of  action,  in  a 
number  of  the  annual  conferences. 

The  earliest  formal  action  seems  to  have  been 
taken  by  the  Miami  Annual  Conference,  which 
met  in  Darke  County,  Ohio,  on  the  3d  of  March, 
1846,  At  this  conference  the  work  of  founding  a 
college  was  earnestly  discussed  and  the  conclusion 
reached  to  propose  to  the  conferences  of  northern 
and  central  Indiana  to  unite  with  them  in  found- 
ing a  college  at  Bluffton,  Wells  County,  Indiana, 
or  at  such  other  place  as  might  be  mutually  agreed 
upon.  To  this  proposition  the  St.  Joseph  Confer- 
ence, which  met  in  Kosciusko  County,  Indiana,  in 
October,  1846,  responded  favorably,  pledging  it- 
self to  cooperate  with  both  influence  and  money. 
This  conference  also  elected  three  trustees,  the  first 
officers  of  the  kind  elected  in  the  history  of  the 
Church,  to  join  with  the  trustees  of  other  confer- 
ences in  the  work.  Rev.  E.  H.  Lamb,  a  member 
of  this  conference,  immediately  upon  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  conference,  published  a  stirring  article 
in  the  Religious  Telescope,  vigorously  advocating 

20 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

the  college  project.  Wliile  thus  the  Miami  and  St. 
Joseph  conferences  were  the  first  to  take  official 
action  in  favor  of  founding  a  college,  circum- 
stances, to  be  detailed  immediately,  secured  to  the 
Scioto  Conference,  which  met  in  the  Bethlehem 
Church,  in  Pickaway  County,  near  Circleville, 
Ohio,  in  October,  1846,  the  honor  of  leadership  in 
the  actual  work  of  founding  a  college. 

A  few  years  before  the  date  just  given,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  zealously  en- 
gaged in  founding  acadeinies  and  colleges,  many 
of  which,  not  receiving  adequate  patronage  and 
support,  proved  miserable  failures.  Among  these 
failures  was  an  academy  called  Blendon  Young 
Men's  Seminary,  located  at  Westerville,  Pranklin 
County,  Ohio,  on  the  direct  stage  route  from 
Columbus,  the  capital  of  the  State,  to^  Cleveland, 
twelve  miles  north  of  the  former  place.  This 
seminary  was  founded  in  1839.  In  1842  the  same 
church  founded  Ohio  Wesleyan  University  at  Del- 
aware, only  eighteen  miles  from  Westerville.  This 
seemed  to  seal  the  fate  of  the  seminary,  as  it  left 
no  field  from  which  it  could  hope  for  adequate 
patronage  and  support.  It,  however,  struggled  on 
for  a  few  years,  when,  becoming  involved  in  a 
troublesome  debt,  it  yielded  to  its  fate  and  failed. 
At  the  time  Otterbein  University  was  founded  it 
had  already  ceased  operations  for  several  years, 
and  the  property  was  idle.  This,  as  may  well  be 
believed,  was  a  sore  disappointment  to  tlie  citizens 
of  Westerville,  who  had  contributed  of  their 
means  in  the  hope  that  they  might  enjoy,  at  home, 
the  facilities  to  educate  their  children.     Such  was 

21 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  situatioii  in  Westerville  and  the  condition  of 
the  Blendon  Young  Men's  Seminary  in  the  fall  of 
1846. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked  how  the 
United  Brethren  Church  came  to  locate  Otterbein 
University  at  Westerville,  at  the  time  an  insignifi- 
cant village,  a  site  as  swampy  as  Chicago  when 
that  city  was  founded,  w^here  the  United  Brethren 
Church  had  neither  a  local  habitation  nor  a  name, 
and  which  was  inaccessible  except  by  stage  coach  or 
by  private  conveyance.  It  was  certainly  at  that 
time  about  the  last  place  that  we  should  now  sup- 
pose would  be  thought  of  as  a  location  for  a  college 
for  the  United  Brethren  Church.  The  circum- 
stances which  led  to  the  selection  of  this  location, 
for  which  the  author  is  indebted  to  a  citizen,  R.  R. 
Arnold,  Esq.,  of  Westerville,  who  died  in  1898, 
over  ninety-one  years  of  age,  who  was  a  trustee  of 
the  Blendon  Young  Men's  Seminary  and  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  the  whole  transaction,  are 
quite  interesting.  This  citizen,  while  in  a  clothing 
store  in  Columbus,  kept  by  a  gentleman  by  the 
name  of  Harvey  Coit,  heard  two  gentlemen,  evi- 
dently members  of  the  United  Brethren  Chui'ch, 
and  probably  ministers,  earnestly  discussing  the 
question  of  founding  a  college.  The  import  of 
their  discussion  was  that  the  time  for  the  United 
Bretliren  Church  to  found  a  college  had  come; 
that  other  churches  were  going  forward  in  this 
work  and  the  United  Brethren  Church  must  do  so 
or  fall  to  the  rear  in  usefulness.  As  tO'  location, 
t^''©  points  were  discussed,  Circleville,  Ohio,  and 
Dayton,  Ohio,  with  seeming  preference  for  Day- 

22 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

ton.  It  was  stated  that  the  question  would  come 
up  at  the  session  of  the  Scioto  Conference  the  week 
following,  and  some  decision  would  be  reached. 
The  citizen  did  not  make  himself  known  or  learn 
who  the  persons  carrying  on  the  discussion  were, 
but  on  his  return  to  Westerville,  confided  what  he 
had  heard  to  a  few  leading  citizens,  with  the  sug- 
gestion that  a  meeting  of  citizens  be  called  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  offering  to  sell  the  Blendon 
Young  Men's  Seminary  to  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  The  meeting  was  called  and  largely 
attended,  and  after  careful  consideration  it  was 
agreed  to  appoint  a  committee  who  should 
promptly  proceed  to  the  Scioto  Conference  and 
offer  the  entire  property,  consisting  of  eight  acres 
of  land  and  two  buildings,  one  a  two^story  frame 
building  and  the  other  a  three^story  brick  dormi- 
tory, for  the  nominal  sum  of  $1,300,  which  was 
about  the  amount  of  debt  with  which  the  seminary 
was  burdened.  This  committee,  consisting  of  G. 
W.  Landon  and  Matthew  Westervelt,  appeared 
before  the  conference,  was  courteously  received, 
and  submitted  the  proposal  with  which  it  was 
charged.  The  proposition  seemed  to^  impress  the 
conference  very  favorably,  which  promptly  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  three,  consisting  of  L. 
Davis,  D.  Edwards,  and  J.  Montgomery,  to  exam- 
ine the  proposition  carefully  and  report  their 
recommendation  to  the  conference.  This  com- 
mittee reported  back,  recommending  the  imme- 
diate purchase  by  the  conference  upon  the  terms 
offered.  This  was  on  the  27th  of  October,  1846. 
The  conference  adopted  the  report  of  the  com- 

23 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

mittee,  apparently  witliout  any  opposition,  and 
appointed  Eev.  W,  Hanby,  Jonathan  Dresbach, 
Esq.,  and  Rev.  L.  Davis  as  a  purchasing  com- 
mittee to  complete  tlie  transaction.  The  confer- 
ence at  the  same  time  constituted  the  members  of 
the  purchasing  committee  a  board  of  trustees  to 
receive  a  title  bond  for  the  property,  securing  a 
subsequent  deed  to  the  trustees  appointed  by  this 
conference,  and  that  may  be  appointed  by  the  Mus- 
kingum and  Sandusky  conferences,  whose  co- 
operation was  solicited.  This  purchasing  com- 
mittee, thus  clothed  with  authority,  after  the 
adjournment  of  the  conference  visited  Wester- 
ville,  looked  the  property  over  carefully,  and  com- 
pleted the  purchase  without  awaiting  the  action  of 
the  Muskingum  and  Sandusky  conferences.  Thus 
suddenly,  and  without  a  dollar  of  money  in  hand 
with  which  to  make  payment,  the  Scioto  Confer- 
ence found  itself  in  possession  of  an  institution  of 
learning,  and  the  first  practical  step  in  the  work  of 
higher  education  in  the  United  Brethren  Church 
was  talvcn. 

Rarely  are  both  parties  to  a  business  transaction 
more  highly  pleased  with  its  consummation  than 
were  the  citizens  of  Westerville  and  the  members 
of  the  SciotO'  Conference  with  the  transfer  of  the 
Blendon  Young  Men's  Seminary.  The  citizens  of 
Westerville  were  elated  that  they  had  succeeded  in 
retrieving  their  ill  fortune  in  the  failure  of  the 
Blendon  Young  Men's  Seminary,  and  secured, 
in  place  of  the  academy  which  they  had  lost,  a  col- 
lege which  should  continue  the  work  of  higher 
education  in  their  coimnunity.     The  members  of 

24 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

tlie  Scioto  Conference  were  elated  that  they  had 
found  an  institution  with  buildings  and  gi-ounds 
all  complete,  and  at  a  figure  far  below  the  original 
cost.  So  both  parties  felt  that  a  kind  providence 
had  greatly  favored  them. 

It  seems  a  pity  to  mar  this  beautiful  picture  of 
mutual  satisfaction,  but  the  truth  of  history  re- 
quires that  it  be  said  that  in  after  years  the  wis- 
dom in  the  choice  of  location  for  the  university 
was  at  times  seriously  questioned  in  certain  por- 
tions of  the  cooperating  territory.     The  criticisms 
upon  the  location  chosen  seemed  determined  some- 
what by  the  fortunes  of  the  university.      When 
there  was  growth  and  prosperity,  there  was  little 
or  no  criticism,  but  when  the  growth  was  slow,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  meager  salaries  paid  professors  and 
other  employees,  the  trustees  were  confronted  at 
the  end  of  the  year  with  heavy  deficits,  resulting 
in  a  growing  and  burdensome  debt,  the  agitation 
for  removal  at  times  became  active  as   a   relief 
measure.     So  acute  did  this  agitation  become  at 
times  that  twice  the  board  of  trustees  was  con- 
strained to  open  the  question  of  location  to  the 
competition  of  the  Church  in  the  cooperating  ter- 
ritory.     This  was  done  first  in  1870,   after  the 
disastrous  fire  which  destroyed  the  main  building, 
inflicting  a  loss  of  over  forty  thousand   dollars 
upon  the  university.     The  effort  to  relocate  failed, 
but  under  the  pressure  of  the  contest  the  citi- 
zens of  Westerville  and  their  friends  contributed 
$35,000  with  which  the  building  destroyed  by  fire 
was   replaced   by   the   present   main   building,    a 
building  far  superior  to  the  one  destroyed,  which 

25 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

is  still  giving  good  service.  At  the  regular  session 
of  tiie  board  in  1900  tlie  question  of  a  change  of 
location  was  again  raised  and  propositions  were 
invited.  The  effort  to  remove  the  university  was 
far  more  formidable  and  determined  than  that  of 
1870,  but  again  failed,  though  the  effort  was  not 
finally  abandoned  until  January,  1902.  The  in- 
tensity of  the  contest  developed  some  bitterness 
and  produced  some  alienations  between  friends  of 
the  university,  but,  upon  the  whole,  resulted  in 
much  more  good  than  harm.  It  caused  a  number 
of  the  friends  to  rally  to  the  support  of  the  uni- 
versity Avith  unusual  devotion  and  liberality;  it 
spurred  the  citizens  of  Westerville  to  make  great 
improvements  in  the  town  by  installing  water- 
works, sanitary  sewers,  and  by  paving  the  streets, 
so  that,  with  natural  gas,  electric  lights,  and  tele- 
phone exchanges,  all  the  modem  conveniences 
enjoyed  in  our  great  cities  are  at  the  command  of 
the  citizens  of  Westerville  and  of  the  university, 
and  the  removal  agitation  has  probably  been 
quieted  for  all  time.  Though  these  relocation  con- 
tests occurred  long  after  the  founding  of  the  insti- 
tution, yet,  as  they  had  their  basis  in  the  location 
chosen  at  the  beginning,  it  was  deemed  best  to 
make  this  brief  reference  to  them  at  this  time. 

The  board  of  trustees  chosen  by  the  Scioto  Con- 
ference held  its  first  session  in  Circleville,  Ohio, 
December  5,  1846.  Its  most  important  action  was 
to  elect  Rev.  L.  Davis  general  agent  to  solicit 
funds  and  endeavor  to  secure  the  cooperation  of 
the  Sandusky  and  Muskingum  conferences.  The 
difiiculties  encountered  and  liardsliips  endured  in 

26 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

ttese  early  educational  efforts  are  set  fortli  in  a 
very  interesting  way  in  an  address  wiiich.  Rev.  L. 
Davis,  tke  agent  just  named,  delivered  at  tlie 
annual  meeting  of  the  Dayton  Alumnal  Associa- 
tion of  Otterbein  University,  held  at  the  home  of 
Doctor  Davis,  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  on  the  evening  of 
December  31,  1886,  at  which  a  large  number  of 
the  graduates,  some  members  of  the  faculty,  and 
other  friends  of  the  university  were  present.  The 
Doctor  had  been  asked  to  give  some  reminiscences 
of  his  early  experiences  in  connection  with  the  col- 
lege, which  he  did.  I  give  his  address  as  it  is 
found  in  "Our  Bishops,"  by  Rev.  H.  A.  Thomp- 
son, D.D.,  pages  401-405 : 

"I  have  sometimes  feared  lest  my  life  might  in 
some  sense  be  considered  a  failure ;  but  when  I  see 
this  gathering  and  look  at  the  fruits  of  this  toil  I 
am  greatly  cheered.  There  are  none  here  who 
were  with  me  in  the  beginning  or  who  know  the 
day  when  I  went  to  this  work.  Those  that  were 
with  me  have  gone  home.  There  hangs  the  last 
catalogue  issued  by  Otterbein  University,  and 
there  beside  it  hangs  the  first  catalogue."  (These 
were  suspended  from  the  chandelier  in  the  parlor. ) 
"Between  them  hangs  a  tale  of  forty  years'  his- 
tory. More  than  forty  years  ago,  in  1845,  the 
General  Conference  opened  the  way  for  collegiate 
education  in  our  Church.  It  was  only  an  enabling 
act.  Then  I  rubbed  my  hands  and  said,  'That  is  a 
good  thing.'  We  were  young  and  enthusiastic  and 
courageous  and  ignoranti — ignorant  of  much  that 
was  to  be  done  in  this  work.  I  met  with  Brother 
Jonathan  Dresbach,  and  we  talked  of  this  matter 

27 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

and  what  tlie  General  Conference  had  done.  We 
talked  with  others.  We  heard  of  Blendon  Young 
Men's  Seminary,  at  Westerville,  with  eight  acres 
of  ground  and  some  buildings.  It  was  in  debt  and 
could  be  bought  for  $1,300.  We  visited  it  and 
looked  the  grounds  all  over.  We  concluded  that  it 
was  good  and  cheap,  and  so  reported  to  Scioto  Con- 
ference, just  forty  years  ago  last  fall.  They 
bought  it,  Avith  Jonathan  Dresbach,  William 
Hanby,  and  L.  Davis,  trustees.  Then  Ave  began  to 
think  of  a  name.  Otterbein  University  of  Ohio 
Avas  suggested.  We  thought  of  college.  We  did 
not  just  knoAv  the  difference  between  a  college  and 
a  university.  We  thought,  somehoAv,  that  a  uni- 
versity meant  more  than  a  college;  so  we  took  it 
all  in  and  called  it  Otterbein  University,  The 
brethren  cast  their  eyes  on  me.  They  Avanted  me 
to  be  a  tool  or  arm  for  them  to  Avork  Avith.  I  Avas 
then  a  young  presiding  elder  and  was  just  begin- 
ning to  feel  the  SAveets  of  dignity,  but  I  AA^ent  into 
the  work.     That  is  'reminiscence.' 

"I  wrote  a  subscription,  the  first  of  the  Church 
for  tills  educational  Avork.  I  subscribed  and  paid 
the  first  dollar  for  higher  education  in  this 
Church.  It  Avas  not  much,  but  it  was  the  first. 
Otterbein  Avas  dead.  For  thirty-four  years  he  had 
been  gone  to  the  church  above.  He  Avas  a  great 
and  good  man;  the  Church  had  ahvays  revered 
him.  We  revere  him  more  than  ever  before  now 
as  the  fruits  of  his  work  appear.  Great  as  he  Avas, 
and  great  as  the  Avork  he  did  for  the  Church  and 
the  Avorld,  he  did  nothing  for  higher  education, 
neither  did  his  immediate  successors.  But  we  Avent 

28 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

into  it — went  into  it  blindly — and  wrote  a  sub- 
scription, and  subscribed  to  it.  Shall  I  tell  you 
the  amount  I  subscribed  ?  Fifteen  dollars ;  no 
more,  no  less.  It  was  little;  I  was  poor  then — 
poorer  than  I  am  now — and  did  not  understand 
the  wants  of  the  work  as  now.  I  went  to  a  man — 
whose  name  I  could  give,  and  one  known  all  over 
the  Church^ — for  his  subscription.  I  wanted  him 
to  give  a  good  amount;  I  pleaded  that  he  would 
give  at  least  as  much  as  I  had  done.  He  said,  ^You 
put  your  name  there  to  show  yourself.'  I  began 
to  press  him  some,  but  I  got  only  ten  dollars.  I 
went  to  another  man,  and  he  said  he  would  give 
ten  dollars  if  I  would  take  it  in  books.  I  accepted 
— took  the  books  and  paid  the  money.  I  have 
some  of  the  books  yet.  Brother  Hanby  gave  me 
twenty-five  dollars — grand,  good  man !  I  went  to 
Jonathan  Dresbach ;  he  was  worth  $100,000.  He 
gave  me  fifty  dollars.  From  another  I  got  twenty- 
five  dollars  and  from  another  fifty  dollars,  and  so 
the  work  began.  Now  I  had  the  cream.  I  must 
start  out  elsewhere;  so  I  started  for  Sandusky 
Conference,  way  on  the  Maumee.  I  had  a  horse 
and  overshoes  and  a  good  overcoat,  and  so  I  started 
on  horseback.  The  first  night  I  stayed  with  a 
hickory  United  Brethren.  The  next  day  I  started 
out  in  the  snow.  I  had  to  cross  Alum  Creek.  I 
went  along  and  along  and  along,  and  saw  no  one  of 
whom  I  could  inquire.  The  snow  had  covered  the 
road,  so  that  there  were  no  tracks.  I  came  to  a 
ford ;  I  could  see  no  one  of  whom  I  could  inquire 
about  it.  I  started  down  the  bank.  The  horse 
went  in  gently  for  a  while,  then  it  plunged  and 

29 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

plunged.  I  climbed  up  on  the  horse's  back.  The 
horse  plunged  and  swam  across  and  I  got  out,  but 
was  wet,  and  soon  stopped  over  night  with  a 
stranger.  Then  I  went  on  by  Sandusky,  and  day 
by  day  through  the  mud,  through  the  black  swamp 
— ^mud — mud — mud — mud,  till  I  could  not  tell 
the  color  of  my  horse.  I  got  to  conference  a  little 
late.  I  had  heard  that  the  bishop  would  antago- 
nize the  work.  Bishop  Russel  was  then  presid- 
ing bishop.  He  was  a  strong  man — strong  in 
intellect,  with  a  mighty  brain  well  stored,  and 
strong  in  prejudices.  I  met  him  tremblingly.  'I 
have  made  up  my  mind  to  oppose  this,'  he  said.  I 
told  him  I  had  come  to  represent  the  work.  ^You 
be  still,  you  be  still,'  was  his  reply.  I  told  him  I 
could  not  be  still,  and  if  they  gave  me  an  advisory 
seat  I  would  advocate  it.  I  got  a  chance,  but  he 
managed  to  rule  me  out  of  order.  I  said  some- 
tliing,  but  I  was  always  too  early  or  I  was  too  late, 
or  something  was  wrong,  so  that  he  ruled  me  out  of 
order.  He  did  oppose  it  in  a  characteristic  speech 
of  half  an  hour,  and  then  put  the  question ;  but 
they  voted  for  the  college,  but  by  a  small  majority. 
It  was  a  victory,  but  a  dear  one.  I  felt  that  a  few 
more  such  victories  would  defeat  me. 

"Then  I  went  to  Muskingum  Conference. 
There  I  met  Bishop  Russel  again.  'You  are  here  V 
'Yes,  I  am  here.'  'Well,  you  be  still.'  I  asked 
him  to  be  still.  I  told  him  I  did  not  think  it  his 
business,  as  a  bishop,  to  oppose  this  work.  He  was 
to  preside,  and  let  the  conference  act.  I  thought  I 
understood  something  of  parliamentary  custom. 
He  replied,  'You  be  still.'     He  opposed  it  in  the 

30 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

conference  vekemently.  He  said  if  this  thing 
carried,  something  awful  would  happen  to  the 
Church.  He  did  not  point  out  what  it  would  be, 
but  vehemently  he  asserted  something  awful  would 
happen  to  the  Church.  The  conference  did  not 
vote  it  that  year,  but  they  did  the  next  year. 
Bishop  Russel  was  a  typical  man.  He  was  a 
gentleman — grand,  noble,  manly,  intelligent.  He 
was  a  representative  of  the  Church  of  that  time  as 
to  the  educational  work.  The  fathers  of  the 
Church  were  well  represented  in  him.  They  were 
not  opposed  to  education,  but  they  did  not  believe 
it  the  business  of  the  Church  to  educate.  This 
sentiment  I  met  through  the  entire  Church.  Other 
churches  had  the  same  view  largely.  They  were 
getting  rid  of  it  faster  than  we  were.  Perhaps 
Otterbein  held  it ;  jSTewcomer  and  Geeting  held  it ; 
I  know  Asbury  held  it.    This  we  had  to  combat. 

"But  we  began  the  work.  There  is  the  first  cata- 
logue. In  1847  we  opened  the  school.  We  had 
one  full  teacher  and  others  who  helped.  I  taught 
some.  Professor  Griffith  was  our  chief  teacher. 
We  struggled  ten  years  before  we  could  graduate 
any  one.  We  had  not  the  faculty  or  the  require- 
ments tO'  entitle  us  to  confer  any  degrees.  After 
ten  years'  work  we  graduated  two  ladies — one  yet 
living  and  one  dead.  When  I  left  the  college,  fif- 
teen years  ago,  there  had  been  graduated  one  him- 
dred  and  forty-four. 

"I  fear  I  have  detained  you  too  long.  God  bless 
you  all.  If  there  is  anything  of  which  I  am  proud 
it  is  this  work.  As  Cotton  Mather  said  of  that 
grand  institution,  Harvard,  'It  is  the  best  tiling 

31 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  fathers  of  the  country  thought  of.'  So  I  would 
say,  The  best  thing  our  Church  ever  thought  of  is 
the  Christian  college.  God  bless  it,  and  bless  you 
aU." 

This  address  reveals  in  a  most  interesting  way 
how  humble  was  the  origin  of  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity and  the  beginning  of  the  educational  work  in 
the  United  Brethren  Church.  But  other  and 
greater  colleges  have  had  humble  beginnings.  Yale 
College  seems  to  have  had  at  first  neither  place 
nor  name.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  year  1700, 
when  ten  ministers  presented  some  forty  books  for 
the  founding  of  a  college  in  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut. The  location  was  not  fixed  at  'New 
Haven  until  1710,  and  in  1718  Elihu  Yale  sent 
from  London  goods  to  the  value  of  two  hundred 
pounds,  equal  to  about  nine  hundred  dollars,  and 
the  trustees  gave  his  name  to  a  building  they  were 
then  erecting.  By  degrees  the  name  was  applied 
to  the  institution  itself.  It  was  not  until  1745 
that  the  name  was  given  by  charter  to  the  corpora- 
tion. 

It  provokes  a  smile  to  look  into  the  first  cata- 
logue of  Otterbein  University  and  see  that  on  the 
page  assigned  to  the  faculty  but  a  single  name 
appears  bearing  the  title  of  principal ;  but  Doctor 
Davis  informs  us  that  other  teachers,  whose  names 
do  not  appear,  aided  in  the  work.  In  this  respect, 
too,  Otterbein  University  finds  its  parallel  in  some 
of  its  noted  predecessors  among  the  colleges  of  the 
country.  When  Timothy  Dwight  became  president 
of  Yale  College,  it  had  already  been  in  operation 
for  nearly  a  century,  and  yet  he  had  associated 

32 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

with  him  in  the  faculty  but  one  professor  and 
three  tutors.  Professor  Josiah  Meigs  occupied  the 
chair  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy,  but 
there  was  no  professor  of  Latin,  none  of  Greek, 
none  of  natural  science,  and  none  of  rhetoric  and 
English  literature.  So  Harvard  in  1800,  when  in 
the  last  half  of  her  second  century,  had  but  one 
professor  whose  duties  were  in  what  we  should  now 
call  the  college  department.  There  was  no  profes- 
sor of  Latin  or  Greek  until  1811,  or  for  a  period  of 
nearly  two  hundred  years.  Williams  College  be- 
gan in  1793  with  a  president  and  one  tutor.  It 
will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  Otterbein  University 
from  the  very  beginning  has  traveled  in  the  road 
which  has  conducted  some  other  colleges  to  re- 
nown. 

The  address  of  Doctor  Davis  also  gives  a 
glimpse  of  the  formidable  obstacles  and  difficulties 
which  were  encountered  in  the  early  history  of  this 
work,  and  incidentally  of  the  toil,  suffering, 
patient  endurance,  fortitude,  and  devotion  neces- 
sary in  order  to  meet  and  overcome  them.  Among 
these  early  heroes  Doctor  Davis  was  easily  chief. 
Had  not  the  leadership  in  this  work  fallen  to  a 
man  of  such  imperial  will,  such  undaunted  cour- 
age, and  such  thorough  devotion,  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity would  probably  have  failed  as  utterly  as 
did  the  Blendon  Young  Men's  Seminary  before  it. 

In  this  address  he  also  gives  a  frank  account  of 
the  naming  of  the  institution,  a  matter  which  has 
since  led  to  some  unfavorable  criticism.  Some 
have  been  disposed  to  charge  that  to  give  to  the 
institution  the  imposing  title  of  "university"  dis- 

3  33 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

played  exceptional  ignorance  and  pretension. 
Some  have  been  so  annoyed  by  this  alleged  misfit 
that  they  have  advocated  an  appeal  to  the  legisla- 
ture to  change  the  name  from  university  to  col- 
lege. Others  have  proposed  to  cure  the  incon- 
gruity, not  by  changing  the  name,  but  by 
advancing  the  grade  of  the  institution  to  the  uni- 
versity standard.  It  would  seem  that  these  critics 
of  the  fathers  are  taking  the  matter  of  name  too 
seriously.  The  fact  is  that  the  fathers  in  giving 
the  title  "university^'  to  the  institution  were  sim- 
ply following  the  example  of  persons  of  the  highest 
culture  and  largest  experience  in  educational 
work.  It  was  largely  the  fashion  of  the  times, 
however  much  we  may  object  to  the  fashion,  and 
was  well  understood,  and  so  was  not  misleading. 
The  following  colleges  at  the  time  bore  the 
title  of  university:  Ohio,  at  Athens;  Miami,  at 
Oxford;  Denison,  at  Granville;  Ohio  Wesleyan, 
at  Delaware;  Baldwin,  at  Berea;  Western  Re- 
serve, at  Hudson,  and  Capital,  at  Columbus,  all  in 
Ohio.  Our  fathers  can  hardly  be  justly  re- 
proached for  following  so  common  a  usage  of  their 
tim.e,  and  since,  and  we  shall  do  well  not  to  allow 
it  greatly  to  disturb  us. 

Another  method  of  curing  the  incongruity  be- 
tween the  name  and  character  of  the  institution 
sometimes  advocated  is  not  by  changing  the  name, 
but  by  advancing  it  to  the  university  grade.  The 
Church,  they  contend,  should  have  at  least  one 
university,  consisting  of  the  schools  of  theology, 
law,  medicine,  and  the  liberal  arts,  and  equipped 
to  do  original  and  research  work,  and  Otterbein 

34 


Conferences  Cooperating  in  Education 

University  as  the  first  college  of  the  Cliurch.  and 
because  of  its  central  location,  is  the  one  best 
suited  for  such  advancement.  Many,  however, 
doubt  the  propriety  of  the  Church  taking  upon 
itself  the  responsibility  and  burdens  of  the  pro- 
fessional schools  of  law  and  medicine,  and  there  is 
quite  general  agreement  that  until  the  Church  can 
be  induced  to  furnish  the  means  adequately  to 
equip  and  furnish  the  college,  which  is  necessary 
for  the  efficiency  and  success  of  the  Church  in  her 
work,  the  idea  of  maintaining  an  institution  of 
university  grade,  which  is  not  thus  necessary,  may 
well  be  held  in  abeyance. 


35 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTER  III. 

Rev.    Lewis   Davis — His    Early    Life     and     Education — As 
Agent  of  Otterbein  University. 

The  reader  will  be  glad  to  know  more  of  one  so 
honorably  and  prominently  associated  with  the 
founding  of  Otterbein  University  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  work  of  higher  education  in  the  Church 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  as  is  Rev,  Lewis 
Davis.  As  has  already  been  stated,  he  has,  by  very- 
general  consent,  been  accorded  the  distinction  of 
being  the  father  of  the  educational  work  of  the 
Church. 

Lewis  Davis  was  born  on  a  small  farm  in  Craig 
(then  part  of  Botetourt)  County,  Virginia,  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1814.  By  his  father  he  was  of  Welsh, 
and  his  mother  of  Scotch  descent.  The  family 
was  poor,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  inured 
to  the  hardships  and  privations  of  a  country  lad 
in  a  home  of  narrow  means.  His  father,  while 
above  the  average  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lived  in  character  and  intelligence,  seemed  to  have 
little  ambition  to  improve  his  station  in  life.  Fond 
of  the  violin,  fast  horses,  and  the  hunt,  he  seemed 
content  with  only  the  barest  subsistence.  He  was 
one  of  those  easy-going  souls,  whose  love  of  amuse- 
ment prompted  him  often  to  drop  the  tasks  of  the 
farm  for  the  more  relished  social  gatherings,  where 
his  genial  disposition  and  skill  on  the  violin  ren- 
dered him  a  popular  and  ever-welcome  attendant. 

36 


First  Agent  Appointed 

This  disposition  of  the  father  to  neglect  the  duties 
of  the  farm,  all  the  more  made  hard  work  on  the 
part  of  the  children  a  necessity,  and  even  then,  but 
for  the  aid  occasionally  given  by  an  uncle  of  the 
mother,  there  would  have  been  suffering  for  the 
necessaries  of  life. 

Thus  compelled  to  labor  in  order  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door  of  the  family,  even  had  there 
been  good  schools  in  the  neighborhood,  the  boy 
could  scarcely  have  been  spared  from  home  to  at- 
tend them.  But  there  were  no  good  schools  in  the 
community  in  those  days,  and  so  the  boy  reached 
the  age  of  eighteen  with  the  merest  rudiments  of 
an  education.  At  this  age  it  seemed  most  improb- 
able that  young  Davis  would  ever  be  the  founder  of 
a  college,  and  the  father  of  the  educational  work  in 
a  vigorous  and  growing  church;  but,  looking 
backward,  we  can  now  see  that  at  about  this  time 
the  forces,  under  a  guiding  Providence,  began  to 
play  which  led  to  this  honorable  distinction. 

The  necessity  of  self-support  set  young  Davis  to 
thinking  about  learning  a  trade  as  a  means  to  this 
end.  Some  blacksmiths  boarding  in  the  family  at 
this  time  naturally  directed  his  attention  to  this 
trade,  and  he  went  to  IvTew  Castle,  the  nearest 
town,  and  began  work  with  an  edge-tool  manufac- 
turer by  the  name  of  Jacob  Hammond,  This 
proved  a  happy  turning-point  in  the  life  of  young 
Davis.  He  went  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith, 
and  he  learned  it,  but  his  residence  and  service 
with  Mr.  Hammond  served  a  far  higher  purpose. 
Mr.  Hammond  was  an  intelligent,  kind,  Christian 
gentleman,  in  good  circumstances,  who  brought  the 

37 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

best  of  home  influences  to  bear  upon  his  young  ap- 
prentice. He  was  quick  to  discover  the  native  tal- 
ents of  young  Davis,  and  began  to  furnish  him  good 
books  to  read,  and  to  encourage  him  to  study.  He 
inspired  him  with  larger  views  of  life  than  he  had 
ever  known  before.  As  a  Christian  home,  the  res- 
idence of  Mr.  Hammond  was  a  frequent  stopping- 
place  for  the  early  pioneer  ministers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who  labored  in  that 
portion  of  Virginia,  and  young  Davis  attracted 
their  attention  and  excited  their  interest.  It  was 
while  living  with  this  family  that  he  was  led  to 
profess  faith  in  Christ  and  begin  the  Christian 
life.  It  was  while  living  in  this  family,  also,  that 
he  experienced  what  he  ever  after  characterized  as 
his  "intellectual  awakening."  The  writer  has 
heard  him  speak  of  it  with  thrilling  effect  in  ad- 
dressing the  students  of  Otterbein  University. 
Among  the  ministers  who  frequented  the  home  of 
Mr.  Hammond  was  one  by  the  name  of  Jeremiah 
Cullum,  who  became  especially  interested  in  Mr. 
Davis,  and  prophesied  a  large  field  of  usefulness 
for  him  in  the  future.  He  endeavored  to  induce 
him  to  attend  school  and  devote  himself  to  study 
to  qualify  himself  for  the  work  he  felt  sure  Provi- 
dence had  in  store  for  him.  On  the  occasion  of 
one  of  Mr.  Cullum's  visits  to  the  home  of  Mr. 
Hammond,  he  inquired  for  "Lute,"  and  on  being 
informed  that  he  had  retired  for  the  night,  Mr. 
Cullum  went  to  his  chamber  and,  kneeling  by  his 
bed,  began  to  talk  in  a  most  earnest  and  sympa- 
thetic way  of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  call  of 
God  to  young  Davis  to  go  to  school  and  equip  him- 

38 


First  Agent  Appointed 

self  for  a  great  work,  at  last  breaking  forth  in  an 
impassioned  prayer  which  so  profoundly  stirred 
the  youth  lying  upon  his  bed  that  he  solemnly  rcf 
solved  then  and  there  to  consecrate  his  life  and  de- 
vote himself  to  study  as  a  preparation  for  anything 
that  God  had  for  him  to  do.  The  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  preparation  by  going  to  school  seemed  to  be 
great,  but,  wrought  up  as  he  was,  he  resolved  to 
overcome  all.  His  mother,  a  gentle,  loving  woman 
of  warm  heart  and  pure  Christian  life,  sympa- 
thized deeply  with  the  new  and  lofty  aspirations 
which  had  been  excited  in  the  heart  of  her  boy,  and, 
to  aid  him  in  going  to  school,  she  proposed  to  give 
him  $50  she  could  illy  spare,  recently  received 
from  the  uncle  to  whom  reference  has  before  been 
made. 

Thus  encouraged,  he  entered  an  academy  in 
'New  Castle,  and  by  very  close  economy  he  was  en- 
abled to  continue  his  studies  for  eighteen  months, 
during  which  time  he  applied  himself  very  closely, 
and  made  rapid  progress.  At  this  time  he  became 
a  member  of  a  debating  club  which  was  of  great 
educational  value  to  him  and  laid  the  foundation 
for  that  skill  and  power  in  debate  which  he  after- 
wards displayed,  and  which  rendered  him  such  a 
formidable  champion  of  any  cause  he  espoused. 

After  leaving  the  academy  he  drifted  for  sev- 
eral years  without  any  very  definite  purpose, 
traveling  through  the  country  and  stopping  to  work 
at  his  trade  when  funds  would  become  exhausted. 
Keeping  his  eyes  and  ears  open  he  learned  the 
ways  of  the  world.  Travel  widened  his  conceptions 
of  life  and  increased  his  knowledge  of  men.   About 

39 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

this  time,  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  some  young  men  of  his  section  of  the 
country  proposed  to  come  West,  as  it  was  called, 
and  he  joined  them.  There  were  three  in  the 
company  and  they  came  by  way  of  the  Big  Coal 
River  and  spent  some  time  at  the  Kanawha  salt 
works  in  western  Virginia.  Not  being  pleased 
with  the  country  he  determined  to  return  to  his 
home.  On  the  way  he  tarried  for  a  night  with  a 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Hurless,  who  had  known 
the  parents  of  Mr.  Davis.  Mr.  Hurless  became  in- 
terested in  Mr.  Davis,  and  determined  if  pos- 
sible to  detain  him.  He  asked  Mr.  Davis  whether 
he  could  teach  school  and  on  receiving  an  affirm- 
ative answer  he  sought  and  obtained  the  school  of 
his  district  for  him  for  a  term  of  three  months. 
Mr.  Davis  taught  the  school  with  such  faithfulness 
and  success  as  to  secure  him  an  engagement  for 
six  months  more.  Meanwhile  he  had  his  home 
with  Mr.  Hurless.  Here  is  found  another  link  in 
the  chain  which  drew  Mr.  Davis  to  the  sphere  of 
his  chief  life  work,  Mr.  Hurless  was  a  member  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church,  a  church  of  which 
Mr.  Davis,  up  to  this  time,  had  known  little  or 
nothing.  Now  he  began  to  worship  with  them  and 
also  taught  a  class  in  the  Sabbath  school.  During 
this  time  Kev.  W.  W.  Davis,  of  the  Scioto  Confer- 
ence, father  of  Revs.  W.  J.  and  A.  E.  Davis,  for- 
merly of  the  Central  Ohio  Conference,  visited  this 
section  as  a  home  missionary,  became  interested 
in  the  young  teacher  and,  anxious  to  induce 
him  to  join  the  United  Brethren  Church,  gave  him 
a  copy  of  the  Church  Discipline  to  examine.     Mr. 

40 


First  Agent  Appointed 

Davis,  althougli  converted  under  the  labors  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  had  never  united  with  that 
church  because  of  its  attitude  toward  slavery  and 
secret  societies,  to  both  of  which  Mr.  Davis  was 
radically  opposed.  The  government  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church,  as  set  forth  in  the  Discipline, 
greatly  pleased  Mr.  Davis  and  he  promptly  united 
with  the  Church.  This  was  in  1837.  In  1838  he 
was  licensed  to  preach,  and  in  1839  he  joined  the 
Scioto  Conference  at  Pleasant  Kun,  Ohio.  Thus 
he  became  a  member  of  the  conference  which  eight 
years  later,  and  largely  through  his  influence  and 
labors,  was  destined  to  lead  the  way  in  the  work 
of  higher  education  in  the  Church  by  founding 
Otterbein  University. 

For  eight  years  he  served  as  an  itinerant 
minister,  his  thirst  for  knowledge  constantly 
intensifying.  He  applied  himself  to  study  as 
closely  as  the  life  of  an  active  itinerant,  trav- 
eling over  a  large  territory,  would  allow.  He 
bought  such  books  as  his  limited  means  would  per- 
mit. As  soon  as  mastered,  from  motives  of  econ- 
omy, he  would  exchange  them  for  others,  which  in 
time  he  would  master.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
Mr.  Davis  became  one  of  a  trio  of  young  men,  all 
destined  to  reach  the  highest  positions  of  honor 
and  usefulness  in  the  gift  of  the  Church,  strik- 
ingly different  in  their  personal  characteristics, 
and  as  strikingly  alike  in  the  toils  and  hardships 
to  which  they  were  exposed,  and  the  absence  of 
educational  advantages  from  which  they  suffered, 
in  early  life.  This  trio  consisted  of  Lewis  Davis, 
William    Hanby,    and    David    Edwards.      These 

41 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

drifted  bv  kindred  aspirations  into  closest  fellow- 
ship and  friendship  and  became  very  helpful  to 
each  other,  in  the  hard  school  of  self -development 
and  self-culture.  Each  had  much  to  do  with  the 
others'  success  and  destiny.  Mr.  Davis  seemed  to 
grasp  the  educational  problem  in  relation  to  the 
Church  with  a  little  more  clearness  and  power  than 
either  Mr.  Hanby  or  Mr.  Edwards,  and  so  the 
position  of  leadership  fell  to  him  without  rivalry 
or  jealousy. 

When  proposals  came  to  the  Scioto  Conference 
to  sell  to  the  conference  the  Blendon  Young  Men's 
Seminary  in  October,  1846,  Mr.  Davis,  along  with 
D.  Edwards  and  J.  Montgomery,  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  examine  into  the  merits  of  the 
proposition  and  report  back  to  the  conference. 
The  committee  reported  to  the  conference,  recom- 
mending the  purchase  upon  the  terms  proposed. 
The  report  was  adopted  and  Mr.  Davis,  W.  Hanby, 
and  Jonathan  Dresbach  were  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  consummate  the  purchase,  and  the  same  per- 
sons were  elected  trustees  to  take  charge  of  the 
property  when  purchased.  This  board  of  trustees 
held  its  first  session  near  Circleville  on  the  fifth 
of  December,  1846.  Meanwhile  the  purchasing 
committee,  consisting  of  the  same  persons,  had 
visited  Westerville,  examined  the  property,  and, 
upon  concluding  that  it  was  a  good  bargain,  de- 
cided to  purchase.  The  board  of  trustees,  after 
organizing  by  electing  Jonathan  Dresbach  presi- 
dent and  W.  Hanby  secretary,  decided  that  the 
first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  appoint  an  agent  to 
solicit  funds  to  pay  for  the  seminary  purchased, 

42 


First  Agent  Appointed 

and  also  to  visit  the  Sandusky  and  Muskingum 
conferences  to  solicit  their  cooperation  in  building 
up  a  college.  A  scholarship  plan  was  also  devised 
and  the  agent  authorized  to  sell  one-hundred-dollar 
scholarships  entitling  the  holders  to  four  years'  in- 
struction in  the  college.  So  far  as  appears,  this 
scholarship  plan  was  allowed  to  default  entirely, 
no  scholarships  upon  this  plan  having  been  offered 
or  sold.  The  board  selected  L.  Davis  as  agent  and 
he  entered  immediately  upon  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  by  soliciting  funds.  As  this  is  the  begin- 
ning of  the  work  in  connection  with  Otterbein 
University  which,  during  the  first  sixty  years  has 
proven  the  most  difficult  and  perplexing,  it  will 
be  interesting  to  indicate  how  this  work  began, 
by  recording  a  few  of  the  earliest  of  Mr.  Davis' 
reports  as  agent.  His  first  report  appears  in  the 
Religious  Telescope,  then  published  at  Circleville, 
Ohio,  December  30,  1846,  and  is  as  follows : 

BLENDON  SEMINARY  FUND. 

"The  following  are  free  donations  made  on  the 
Circleville  station  for  the  Blendon  Institute.  I 
think  all  will  admit  that  this  station  has  done  very 
well  in  this  important  enterprise,  and  should  I 
succeed  as  well  (in  proportion  to  wealth)  in  the 
other  fields  of  labor  I  intend  to  visit,  I  think  we 
shall  be  able  by  our  next  annual  conference  to 
present  an  encouraging  report.  I  feel,  dear  breth- 
ren, that  I  am  engaged  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  If 
I  did  not  I  should  at  once  desist.  When  we  re- 
member that  we  as  a  people  are  laboring,  not  to 
build  an  institution  to  manufacture  ministers  (let 

43 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

this  be  the  work  of  God)  but  to  train  the  juvenile 
mind  to  think,  to  teach  the  youth  how  to  act  so  as 
to  be  useful  in  time  and  ready  for  eternity ;  I 
say  when  we  think  of  the  great  blessings  we  may 
thus  confer  upon  our  race,  I  feel  willing  to  endure 
all  the  opposition  I  may  meet  with.  But,  thank 
the  Lord,  I  do  not  meet  with  as  much  opposition 
as  I  expected.  Should  the  two  conferences  join 
us,  I  think  we  have  nothing  to  fear.  Our  motto  is, 
We  WILL  by  the  grace  of  God  succeed.  Dear 
brethren  in  the  ministry  and  all  others,  give  us 
your  influence,  the  use  of  your  pens  and  tongues, 
and  your  money.    Here  is  the  report: 

L.   Davis    $  15  00 

D.  Edwards 10  00 

N.  Altman 10  00 

Jos.  M.  Spangler 10  00 

C.  A.   King    10  00 

Aquilla  Justice 5  00 

David  Leist 5  00 

Public  collections 17  00 

Various  persons   20  00 

Total    $102    00 

"L.  Davis." 

This  is  indeed  a  small  beginning  as  the  reader 
will  see,  but  it  is  greater  than  the  original  gift 
which  led  to  the  foundation  of  Yale  College.  This 
great  college  had  its  start  in  ten  ministers  giving 
not  a  sum  of  money  but  a  collection  of  forty  books 
for  the  founding  of  a  college.  Mr.  Davis  was 
wont  to  say  of  his  pledge  of  fifteen  dollars,  "It 
was  small,  but  it  was  the  first."  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  report  as  a  whole.     The  fact  that  since 

44 


First  Agent  Appointed 

this  feeble  beginning  over  three  hundred  thonsand 
dollars  have  been  added,  is  another  illustration  of 
the  adage  that  "great  oaks  from  little  acorns 
grow,"  though  the  latter  sum  is  only  relatively 
great. 

The  next  report  of  Mr.  Davis  as  agent  appears 
January  20,  1847,  and  is  as  follows: 

"SEMINAEY  FUND SECOND  REPORT. 

"I  wish  to  report  through  the  Telescope  to  the 
friends  of  Blendon  Institute  our  success  on  Pick- 
away circuit.  I  cannot  say  what  success  all  the 
friends  of  this  institution  have  expected  me  to 
meet  with  in  this  laudable  enterprise,  but  this 
much  I  may  or  can  say,  I  have  succeeded  far  be- 
yond what  I  expected,  and  would  say  as  in  first 
report,  no  serious  opposition  exists  or  can  exist  to 
this  enterprise.  I  think  the  day  is  passing  away 
when  it  will  be  a  subject  of  controversy  whether  a 
sanctified  literature  will  bless  or  curse  the  Church. 
I  labor  in  this  with  all  that  seriousness  and  relig- 
ious conscientiousness  and  trust  in  God  that  I  do 
in  preaching:  for  this  plain  reason  it  is  as  much 
the  work  of  God. 

Report. 

Jonathan   Dresbach    $  50  00 

Martin   Dresbach    25  00 

Thomas  McGrady 25  00 

Ephraim  Dresbach 25  00 

John  P.  Morris 10  00 

Henry  Morris   10  00 

Wm.   Dresbach    10  00 

Isaac  Bookwalter 10  00 

Henry  Dresbach   10  00 

45 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Daniel  Morgan   5   q-q 

M.  Ambrose 5   00 

Wm.  Bitten 5   OO 

Isaac  Dresbach 5    00 

Caroline  Bookwalter    5   00 

Mother  Bookwalter    5   00 

S.  D.  Bookwalter 5   00 

M.   Metzter    5   00 

Jacob  Dresbach    5   00 

Andrew  Pontius 5   00 

Isaac  Larrick    5   00 

Pleasant  Brock 5   00 

Various  persons   60   50 

Total    $300   50 

"The  above  with  the  first  report  will  make  col- 
lected and  subscribed  in  all,  $402.50  in  a  little 
more  than  one  month's  time.  The  reason  why 
we  do  not  report  the  sums  under  five  dollars  is  not 
that  we  disdain  small  sums  or  those  who  subscribe 
them,  but  because  I  suppose  it  would  occupy  too 
much  space  in  the  paper.  L.  Davis." 

These  reports  are  sufficient  to  show  the  small  but 
hopeful  way  in  which  the  financial  support  of  the 
educational  work  of  the  Church  began.  They  are 
interesting,  too,  for  the  historic  names  they  contain 
which  are  thus  honorably  associated  with  the  be- 
ginning of  this  important  work.  Some  of  these 
family  names — as  notably  the  Bookwalters —  are 
still  prominent  in  the  councils  and  work  of  the 
Church.  Other  reports  follow,  and  on  April,  1847, 
Mr.  Davis  reported  that  he  had  secured  a  little 
over  one  thousand  dollars.  Meanwhile  the  Alle- 
gheny Conference,  in  Pennsylvania,  became  en- 
listed in  the  work  of  founding  a  college  in  its 

46 


First  Agent  Appointed 

bounds,  and  in  May,  1847,  J.  Kitter,  the  agent  of 
the  Eastern  enterprise,  quite  overshadowed  these 
reports  of  Mr.  Davis  by  reporting  that  he  had  se- 
cured $2,860  in  pledges,  and  we  see  here  the  be- 
ginning of  that  inveterate  tendency  to  unduly  mul- 
tiply institutions  of  learning  which  has  been  so 
costly,  so  injurious  to  the  cause  of  education  in 
the  Church,  but  a  tendency  which  has  not  yet  been 
altogether  overcome.  Suffice  it  to  say  now,  that 
this  Eastern  enterprise,  known  as  Mt.  Pleasant 
College  and  located  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Pennsylva- 
nia, after  a  feeble,  struggling  life  of  ten  years,  be- 
came hopelessly  involved  in  debt  and  in  1857  all 
its  interests  were  transferred  to  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity and  the  Allegheny  Conference  entered  into 
cooperation  with  the  college  at  Westerville. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  which 
met  in  its  first  regular  session  in  Westerville, 
April  26,  1847,  of  which  board  Mr.  Davis  was 
elected  president,  the  buildings  were  ordered  put 
in  good  repair  and  it  was  decided  to  open  the  doors 
of  the  college  for  the  reception  of  students  on  the 
first  of  September  following.  Mr.  Davis,  as  agent, 
had  general  charge  in  connection  with  the  solici- 
tation of  funds,  of  the  repair  work  needed,  and  it 
is  fair  to  say  that  at  this  early  day,  and  for  many 
years  thereafter,  the  care  of  the  college  came  upon 
him  as  upon  no  one  else.  His  courage,  persever- 
ance, and  business  tact  were  of  incalculable  value 
to  the  new  enterprise.  When  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber arrived,  matters  were  in  a  fair  state  of  readi- 
ness and  the  doors  of  the  institution  were  thrown 
open  and  its  work  began  in  a  very  humble  and 

47 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

elementary  way  it  is  true,  but  destined  to  grow  and 
become  one  of  the  mighty  factors  in  determining 
the  growth  and  destiny  of  the  Church.  For  three 
years  Mr.  Davis  served  as  a  kind  of  general-pur- 
pose man,  ready  to  do  anything  that  seemed  nec- 
essary to  maintain  and  firmly  establish  the  col- 
lege. At  the  end  of  this  period,  while  very  much 
remained  to  be  done,  the  foundations  may  be  said 
to  have  been  securely  laid  and  Mr.  Davis  had 
borne  so  important  and  conspicuous  a  part  in  this 
work  as  to  forever  link  his  name  with  the  institu- 
tion as  its  founder.  Of  his  eminent  service  during 
the  eighteen  years  that  he  served  as  president  of 
the  college  there  will  be  occasion  to  speak  in  sub- 
sequent chapters. 


48 


Agitation  and  Debate 


CHAPTER    ly. 

The  Educational  Question — Agitation  and  Debate — Circular 
to  the  Church. 

Some  account  has  already  been  given  of  the 
rise  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  higher  education  in 
the  Church  and  of  the  measures  and  plans  which 
resulted  in  the  founding  of  Otterbein  University. 
It  will  be  well  perhaps  to  consider  a  little  more 
closely  the  clash  of  ideas  which  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  this  movement  in  the  Church.  Doubt- 
less it  would  have  been  most  welcome  to  the  early 
champions  of  education  in  the  Church  if  their 
efforts  and  plans  had  not  been  opposed,  but  it  is 
by  no  means  clear  that  it  would  have  been  better, 
or  even  as  well,  if  all  had  promptly  acquiesced  and 
none  had  opposed  the  efforts  of  the  pioneers  in 
this  cause.  It  is  after  all  the  contested  positions 
of  which  we  gain  clearest  knowledge  and  firmest 
hold.  With  what  overwhelming  force  the  great 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  while  exposing  the  errors 
of  the  Judaizing  teachers,  sets  forth  the  great  doc- 
trine of  salvation  by  faith.  What  a  splendid  body 
of  apologetic  literature  the  opponents  of  Christi- 
anity have  proved.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  sail  on 
calm  seas,  but  it  is  the  storm  that  gives  the  knowl- 
edge and  command  of  the  sea  which  makes  the 
sailor.  Considering  the  Church  sixty  years  ago, 
as  we  have  depicted  it,  it  was  inevitable  that  the 
beginning  of  the  work  of  higher  education  in  the 

4  49 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Church  should  produce  a  commotion  and  arouse 
antagonistic  forces.  It  is  well  that  in  this  case 
the  opposition,  with  perhaps  the  rarest  exceptions, 
came  from  persons  who  were  thoroughly  honest 
and  sincere,  who  were  prompted  to  take  their  po^ 
sition  because  of  misapprehension  and  lack  of  in- 
formation. With  such  people  all  that  is  necessary 
to  be  done  is  to  correct  misapprehension  and  im- 
part information;  but  this  could  hardly  be  done 
without  a  season  of  agitation  and  debate,  such  as 
occurred  in  the  Church  in  the  decade  from  1840 
to  1850,  and  which  agitation  and  debate  were  at 
their  height  during  the  latter  half  of  this  decade. 
While  the  advocates  of  a  college  for  the  Church 
were  thinking  almost  exclusively  of  the  youth 
whom  they  hoped  to  gather  within  its  halls,  and 
of  the  benefits  and  blessings  which  should,  in  the 
future,  come  to  the  Church  and  the  world  through 
the  labors  of  these  cultured  youths,  they  were  un- 
consciously performing  a  most  beneficent  service 
by  the  great  uplift  they  were  giving  through  this 
campaign  of  education  to  the  multiplied  thou- 
sands of  ministers  and  laymen  who  were  never 
destined  to  see  the  inside  of  a  college. 

After  Eev.  L.  Davis,  the  most  active,  capable, 
and  useful  pioneer  of  the  educational  work  in  the 
Church  was  Rev.  Wm.  Hanby.  Being  six  years 
the  senior  of  Mr.  Davis,  both  in  years  and  in  the 
ministry  of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  he  en- 
tered the  conflict  earlier  than  Mr.  Davis.  Joining 
the  Scioto  Conference  in  1833,  he  advanced  rap- 
idly from  circuit  preacher  to  presiding  elder  in 
1836,  to  general  agent  and  treasurer  of  the  Tele- 

50 


Agitation  and  Debate 

scope  oflSce  in  1837,  to  editor  of  the  Religious 
Telescope  in  1839,  and  to  bishop  in  1845.  These 
positions  gave  Mr.  Hanby  great  opportunity  to 
serve  the  Church  as  the  friend  and  champion  of 
higher  education,  an  opportunity  which  he  consci- 
entiously and  faithfully  improved  on  his  election 
to  the  bishop's  office  by  the  General  Conference  of 
1845,  the  same  conference  which,  as  already  stated, 
took  the  first  action  in  the  subject  of  founding  a 
college.  On  retiring  from  the  editorship  of  the 
Religious  Telescope,  a  position  which  he  had  occu- 
pied for  six  years,  in  his  valedictory  he  used  the 
following  language  on  the  subject  of  higher  edu- 
cation : 

"Whatsoever,  therefore,  our  hands  find  to  do,  we 
should  do  it  with  our  might,  and  now  that  we  as 
a  Church  should  know  where  to  begin,  we  should 
determine  where  we  are  most  deficient;  and  may 
we  not  ask,  What  have  we  done  to  promote  in- 
telligence and  correct  morals  and  deep  piety  ?  As  to 
intelligence,  are  we  not  deficient?  A  great  want 
of  love  of  reading  and  information  generally  is 
very  apparent.  Our  people  are  an  industrious 
and  wealthy  people,  but  by  no  means,  with  a  few 
noble  exceptions,  a  learned  or  even  a  reading  peo- 
ple. God  has  declared  that  his  gospel  shall  be 
preached  in  all  the  world,  among  all  nations,  but 
alas !  is  our  Church  prepared  to  send  missionaries 
among  all  nations  ?  If  the  most  effectual  doors 
were  opened  to  us,  could  we  enter  the  field  ?  ITo, 
we  are  not  qualified.  We  have  the  means  of  use- 
fulness but  lack  the  energy.  We  lack  a  deep  sac- 
rificing spirit.     We  cling  to  our  ideas,  unwilling 

51 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  things.  ISTo  great  reforma- 
tion in  the  Church  since  the  crucifixion  has  ever 
been  achieved  without  profound  learning  and  re- 
ligion combined.  God  has  given  powers  of  mind 
capable  of  great  improvement,  and  we  are  com- 
manded to  occupy.  The  best  and  most  pious,  the 
greatest  reformers  that  ever  lived  were  learned 
men.  Indeed,  without  this  they  could  not  have 
been  great  reformers.  As  well  think  about  a  great 
schoolmaster  who  did  not  know  his  letters. 

"It  is  often  asserted  that  learning  makes  a  man 
proud  and  haughty,  but  it  had  not  that  effect  on 
Paul.  lie  appears  to  have  been  quite  as  humble 
as  any  of  the  apostles.  There  are  many  pious  and 
useful  ministers  that  are  unlearned,  but  their  in- 
fluence does  not  extend  beyond  their  immediate 
walks.  Learning  is  the  handmaid  of  religion  and 
should  be  cared  for  by  all. 

"Now  I  shall  ask  the  friends  of  education  to  re- 
solve upon  renewed  efforts  in  this  great  work.  Use 
every  means  calculated  to  promote  this  object.  Let 
us  never  rest  until  we  have  within  our  own  Church, 
schools  of  moral  and  literary  training.  The  in- 
terests of  the  Church  imperiously  demand  it. 
Our  brethren  want  some  place,  under  the  care  of 
the  Church,  of  pious  resort  where  their  children 
may  get  an  intellectual  and  religious  training, 
where  they  may  be  reared  for  the  Lord ;  where 
the  progress  of  learning  with  them  may  be  truly 
sanctified.  The  promiscuous  schools  of  the  land 
fail  to  accomplish  this.  This  work  is  left  to  the 
church,  under  God,  to  perform.  We  have  recently 
been  informed  that  in  one  seminary  of  another 

52 


Agitation  and  Debate 

church,  there  are  fourteen  United  Brethren  chil- 
dren in  attendance.  I^Tow,  why  not  educate  our 
own  children  ourselves  ?  Do  other  churches  better 
understand  the  genius  of  our  government  and  doc- 
trines than  we  ?  No  marvel  indeed  if  children  thus 
educated  should  leave  the  church  of  their  fathers 
and  unite  with  the  one  that  prepared  them  for 
usefulness.  Indeed,  upon  this  very  subject  we 
hardly  deserve  to  be  ranked  among  the  sisterhood 
of  churches.  We  have  been  recreant  to  this  very 
hour ;  to  our  shame  be  it  spoken.  Be  it  known 
that  upon  this  subject,  God  granting  life  and 
health,  we  shall  never  cease  talking  and  impor- 
tuning with  God  and  man  until  our  Church  is  fur- 
nished with  the  facilities  of  a  fair  education,  that 
our  young  brethren  and  sisters  may  obtain  that 
training  at  home  that  they  a-re  now  seeking  else- 
where." 

To  enable  the  reader  to  understand  the  temper 
and  character  of  the  discussion  as  it  was  carried 
on  in  the  Church  sixty  years  ago  and  more,  a 
fairly  representative  communication  is  given  on 
each  side  of  the  controversy.  Against  the  found- 
ing of  a  college  the  following  communication  ap- 
peared in  the  Religious  Telescope  of  March  24, 
1847,  over  the  signature  "J." 

SEMINAEIES. 

"I  also  will  show  mine  opinion."    Job  32  :  10. 

"Since  much  is  said  in  the  Religious  Telescope 
of  seminaries,  I  also  will  show  mine  opinion  con- 
cerning them.  We  all  agree  that  much  learning 
will  not  make  people  pious.     This  could  be  shown 

53 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

by  numerous  examples.  For  instance,  look  at  the 
fields  of  battle.  Who  calls  the  thousands  together 
to  kill  and  be  killed  ?  The  answer  will  be  plain. 
Hence,  we  see  that  learning  will  not  preserve  peace, 
•Strictures  in  Education,  No.  5,'  to  the  contrary, 
notwithstanding. 

"We  have  the  common  schools,  as  Brother  Pef- 
fley  said,  to  educate  our  children.  The  education 
we  can  get  in  them  is  fully  sufficient  if  we  are  only 
well  versed  in  the  school  of  Christ.  God  forbid 
that  I  should  oppose  education,  but  when  I  take  a 
view  of  those  societies  that  have  institutions  of 
learning  I  am  at  a  loss  to  see  much  pious  good 
springing  therefrom ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
writers  in  the  Religions  Telescope  so  far  have 
failed  to  show  what  great  good  has  been  wrought 
in  the  societies  that  have  them. 

"The  Church  is  not  yet  a  hundred  years  old 
and  is  said  to  number  a  hundred  thousand  mem- 
bers, secured  without  seminaries.  How  much 
more  have  those  with  them  done  ?  And  for  deep 
piety  and  a  holy  life,  I  think  we  need  not  be  afraid 
to  compare  witk  any  of  those  that  have  colleges. 
And  why  just  now  'suffer  an  irreparable  loss  if 
we  do  not  forthwith  carry  forward  some  project 
for  the  education  of  the  rising  generation,'  as  a 
'Local  Preacher'  thinks.  The  Brethren  Church  so 
far  has  done  well  without  seminaries,  and  my  opin- 
ion is  that  if  she  establishes  them  they  will  land 
the  Church  where  Father  Otterbein  started  from 
when  he  commenced  it. 

"Brother  H.'s  [Hanby's]  expression  about  the 
seminaries,  yet  fails  to  produce  much  gospel  proof, 

54 


Agitation  and  Debate 

nor  yet  any  great  results  from  the  past,  but  admits 
that  'evil  influences  are  manifest  among  many  of 
our  high  schools  and  colleges,'  perhaps  in  most  of 
them ;  and  who  will  guarantee  that  no  evil  influ- 
ences be  manifest  in  this  ?  And  who  will  warrant 
us  that  a  collegiate  training  will  not  be  the  test 
for  entering  conference  ?  Experience  is  the  best 
school. 

"Brother  H.'s  [Hanby's]  expression  about  the 
scientific  farmer,  in  my  opinion,  is  rather  a  wild 
one.  Farming  requires  labor.  With  all  the  sci- 
ence in  the  world  you  could  not  raise  wheat  with- 
out tilling  the  ground. 

''My  opinion  is  that  the  money  given  to  semi- 
naries would  be  by  far  better  spent  if  it  were 
applied  to  our  common  schools  and  to  paying  our 
traveling  preachers  and  missionaries  and  to  build- 
ing meeting-houses. 

"And,  finally,  my  opinion  is  that  a  majority  of 
the  Church  [United  Brethren  in  Christ]  are  op- 
posed to  establishing  seminaries  of  learning,  and 
that  the  opposition  is  founded  on  the  gospel  and 
the  experience  of  the  past.  Space  admonishes  me 
to  stop  for  the  present. 

"Yours  respectfully, 

"J." 

To  this  communication  L.  Davis,  in  the  same 
number  of  the  Telescope,  made  the  following  re- 

"Mr.  Editor: 

"Being  at  the  office  at  the  time  the  above  came 
to  hand,  by  your  permission  I  will  present  to  your 

55 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

readers  a  few  thoughts  upon  the  same  subject  by 
way  of  contrast ;  and  if  flaw  or  weakness  be  found 
in  either  article,  the  vigorous  analysis  to  which  all 
given  principles  are  subjected  when  presented  to 
an  enlightened  people,  will  expose  my  arguments, 
as  I  consider  the  above  as  weak  and  futile. 

''The  grand  question  is  this.  Do  seminaries  and 
high  schools  of  learning  benefit  mankind  f  I  take 
the  affirmative  of  this  question.  I  commence  my 
thread  of  arguments  by  stating  the  obvious  fact 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  and  the  sciences 
are  invariably  and  inseparably  connected  with  the 
Christian  religion.  Any  man  acquainted  in  the 
least  degree  with  ancient,  modem,  profane,  or 
sacred  history  must  know  that  when  the  Christian 
religion  is  received  in  its  true  spirit  in  heathen 
lands,  the  rude  customs  of  savage  life  give  place 
to  the  refinements  of  art  and  mind.  Then  with 
propriety  and  great  beauty  education  has  been 
called  (not  religion  itself)  but  a  twin  sister  of  the 
Christian  religion.  .  .  .  Every  useful  discov- 
ery in  the  world  of  art  and  mind  has  contributed 
to  the  elevation  of  divine  revelation. 

''But  says  the  objector,  'I  am  not  opposed  to  ed- 
ucation, but  I  am  opposed  to  these  seminaries.' 
Well,  now,  think  a  little.  Should  I  say  that  he  is 
not  opposed  to  religion,  (oh,  no,  God  forbid,)  and 
at  the  same  time  say  that  he  is  opposed  to  prayer, 
class,  and  love-feast  meetings,  and  all  the  means 
by  which  religion  is  promoted,  what  would  you 
think  ?  To  oppose  the  means  by  which  a  thing  is 
promoted  is  the  same  thing  to  me  as  to  oppose  the 
thing  itself. 

5G 


Agitation  and  Debate 

"My  second  argument  is  dra^vn  from  universal 
experience.  One  of  the  strong  arguments  in  favor 
of  the  Christian  religion  is  predicated  upon  the 
experience  of  those  who  have  tested  its  power  upon 
their  own  hearts.  If  any  principle  can  be  proven 
from  the  universal  experience  of  mankind,  it 
amounts  to  a  demonstration.  We  apply  this  kind 
of  argument  to  the  subject  under  consideration. 
All  men  of  every  country,  in  every  age,  and  of 
every  grade  of  society  that  have  tested  experi- 
mentally the  utility  of  these  schools,  without  a 
single  exception,  testify  that  they  are  a  blessing 
to  mankind.  I  do  not  claim  for  all  arguments 
the  strength  of  a  demonstration,  but  for  this  I  do. 
What  is  the  testimony  of  all  those  great  and  good 
men  who  were  not  only  benefactors  to  the  age  in 
which  they  lived  but  to  generations  unborn  ?  I  do 
not  wish  the  argument  to  be  so  understood  as  to 
mean  that  all  who  oppose  the  founding  of  schools 
are  necessarily  ignorant,  but  I  wish  all  to  remem- 
ber the  fact  that  all  those  who  oppose  have  never 
tested  the  advantage  of  these  schools  in  storing 
their  minds  with  useful  knowledge. 

"My  third  argument  is  predicated  upon  God's 
plan  of  giving  the  ivord  of  life  to  man.  Christ 
gave  the  gift  of  tongues  to  his  ancient  ministers  in 
order  to  spread  his  light,  life,  and  truth  to  all  peo- 
ple under  heaven,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  in 
the  history  of  the  church  that  since  the  days  of 
miracles  the  Lord  Jesus  has  blessed  these  schools 
to  the  furtherance  of  his  word;  and  in  fact  we 
cannot  see  hoW  any  man  can  devise  a  reasonable 
plan  to  send  the  gospel  to  that  part  of  the  popu- 

57 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

lation  of  the  globe  now  destitute  of  the  bread  of 
life,  except  by  founding  appropriate  schools  where 
the  different  languages  of  the  earth  may  be  taught, 
and  men  of  God  may  learn  the  original  languages, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  translate  the  Scriptures  into  the 
native  tongues  of  heathen  nations.  Do  any  ask 
what  benefit  will  the  Blendon  Seminary  confer? 
I  ask  what  benefit  is  it  to  you  to  live  in  the  midst 
of  an  enlightened  community,  even  if  you  knew 
not  a  letter  in  the  book?  and  what  benefit  is  it  to 
the  great  body  of  the  people  to  have  the  Scriptures 
in  their  own  native  tongue  ?  When  these  questions 
are  answered  satisfactorily,  I  can  then  tell  what 
advantage  these  schools  are  to  the  common  people. 
Luther  gave  the  Scriptures  to  the  Germans,  and,  as 
with  the  hand  of  violence,  tore  God's  revealed 
truth  from  the  vaults  of  darkness  and  seclusion  to 
which  the  superstition  of  the  Catholic  clergy  had 
consigned  it.  It  had  been  taken  from  the  people 
and  put  there  by  the  hand  of  violence  and  blood- 
shed ;  and  God  determined  to  rescue  it  by  the 
hand  of  Luther,  who  was  not  only  a  good,  but  a 
learned  man.  When  Luther  gave  the  Scriptures 
to  the  common  people  in  their  native  tongue,  refor- 
mation like  a  sheet  of  lightning  flashed  up  in  a 
dark  place  and  spread  over  all  the  Christian  world. 

"In  love, 

"L.  Davis." 

At  the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, which  met  in  Westerville,  April  26,  1847, 
with  representatives  from  the  Scioto  and  San- 
dusky   conferences,    a    committee    consisting    of 

58 


Agitation  and  Debate 

Revs.  Wm.  Hanbj  and  L.  Davis  was  appointed  to 
prepare  a  circular  for  the  information  of  the 
Church,  setting  forth  the  purposes  and  plans  of 
the  projectors  of  the  college,  for  publication  in  the 
Religious  Telescope.  As  an  official  statement  of 
the  motives  and  purposes  of  those  who  had  this 
educational  enterprise  in  charge  it  possesses  his- 
toric value  and  it  is  here  inserted. 

a  cikculae  to  the  chtjecn  in  general. 
"Dear  Brethren  : 

"We,  the  undersigned,  with  feelings  of  respect 
and  Christian  fellowship,  wish  to  set  before  you 
and  the  public  generally  the  motives  by  which  we 
are  actuated  in  founding  a  literary  institution  un- 
der the  control  and  patronage  of  the  Church  of  our 
choice.  A  due  respect  to  ourselves  and  especially 
to  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  Church  seem  to 
demand  this  at  our  hands. 

"Some  of  the  correspondents  of  the  Telescope 
represent  us  as  establishing  an  institution  of  learn- 
ing chiefly  to  qualify  young  men  for  the  ministry, 
and  impose  upon  it,  we  think  unwarrantedly,  the 
name  of  priest  factory.  Without  admitting  by  any 
means  that  the  acquired  abilities  of  our  ministry 
are  beyond  or  even  up  to  what  the  important  sta- 
tion demands,  yet  against  this  comment  upon  our 
motives  we  now  enter  the  most  solemn  protest; 
and  we  think  it  unkind  in  any  of  our  brethren 
thus  to  represent  us,  because  we  have  from  the 
beginning  disavowed,  in  public  and  in  private, 
any  intention  of  the  kind.  Our  great  object  is  the 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  especially  in  the 
Church  to  which  we  belong.     Some  accuse  of  de- 

59 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

parting  from  tlie  original  landmarks  and  usages 
of  the  Cliurch,  This  may  be  true  or  untrue.  It 
depends  upon  the  sense  in  which  the  accusation  is 
understood.  If  it  is  to  mean  that  we  of  the  Scioto 
and  other  annual  conferences  have  undertaken  an 
enterprise  unknown  in  this  distinctive  branch  of 
the  Church  before,  it  is  true;  but  if  it  is  under- 
stood to  mean  that  we  are  departing  from  the  gen- 
ius of  our  Discipline,  or  from  the  known  senti- 
ments of  our  fathers,  who  under  God  founded  the 
Church,  it  is  untrue.  We  not  only  do  not  find  any 
legal  impediment  in  the  Discipline  to  the  enter- 
prise, but  we  find  ourselves  pursuing  the  very  plan 
marked  out  by  the  supreme  authorities  of  the 
Church,  and  as  it  respects  the  opinions  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Church,  we  do-  not  consider  them  of 
supreme  authority  in  deciding  a  question  of  this 
kind ;  but  whatever  weight  they  may  have  upon 
the  minds  of  our  people,  let  it  be  remembered  that 
we  have  all  upon  our  side.  Xow  we  ask  in  the 
name  of  reason,  who  ever  heard  our  fathers  speak 
against  high  schools  as  such  ?  But  tliey  considered 
it  an  evil  of  great  magnitude  to  educate  men  in 
these  schools  for  the  ministry  and  send  them  out 
to  preach  without  religion.  So  say  we  with  all  our 
hearts.  If  God  should  call  a  man  from  the  plow, 
let  him  go;  if  from  the  mechanic's  shop,  let  him 
go;  if  from  any  of  the  high  schools  of  the  land, 
let  him  likewise  go,  and  go  immediately.  This 
sentiment,  we  think,  our  venerated  fathers  held  no 
more  sacred  than  we  do.  Some  ask  with  apparent 
triumph.  Who  will  vouch  that  the  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity will  not  at  some  future  day,  when  it  passes 

GO 


Agitation  and  Debate 

into  the  hands  of  other  men,  become  a  'priest 
factory'  ?  We  answer :  This  asks  more  at  our 
hands  than  is  demanded  in  any  other  case  what- 
ever. Should  you  urge  a  sinner  to  embrace  Christ 
in  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins,  and  should  he  de- 
mand of  you  to  vouch  that  in  case  he  should  thus 
embrace  Christ  that  he  would  never  disgrace  his 
profession,  would  you  not  think  his  demand  un- 
reasonable? Does  such  an  evasion  destroy  the 
propriety  of  a  sinner's  reformation,  or  does  the 
abuse  of  education  destroy  forever  the  utility  of 
education  received  through  a  systematic  course  of 
study  ? 

"All  any  reasonable  man  can  ask  is,  that  we 
try  by  the  grace  of  God  to  preserve  the  institution 
from  such  apostasy.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that 
such  is  the  wonderful  structure  of  the  mind  that 
it  ivill  be  educated.  We  must  not  think  that 
enough  opposition  can  be  raised  to  stop  the  march 
of  mind  now  in  progress  in  this  great  American 
family.  Indeed,  he  who  thus  opposes  occupies  a 
position  regretted  by  the  wise  and  good — a  posi- 
tion unfavorable  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country 
and  the  cause  of  God. 

"The  question  is  not.  Shall  the  youth  be  edu- 
cated ?  but.  What  kind  of  an  education  shall  he 
have  ?  Is  the  sentiment  true  so  often  repeated  by 
the  philosopher,  statesman,  and  divine,  in  all  civ- 
ilized nations,  that  the  hope  of  the  country  and 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  Christianity  depend  upon 
the  proper  education  of  the  youth  ?  If  it  is,  we 
ask  the  one  hundred  thousand  communicants  of 
our  Church,  Are  we  not  members  of  this  vast  re- 
el 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

public  ?    Are  we  not  responsible  to  God  for  the  in- 
fluence we  exert  in  tbis  cause  ? 

''It  is  thought  by  many  of  the  wise  and  good  that 
we  are  standing  on  the  eve  of  some  great  revolu- 
tion, which  seems  evident  when  we  lift  our  eyes 
from  beholding  local  objects  and  look  at  the  agi- 
tated state  of  nations  and  empires.  I^ow  man 
contends  with  man — mind  meets  mind.  Infidel- 
ity, Catholicism,  and  errorists  of  every  grade  have 
their  schools,  and  shall  we  not  gird  for  the  con- 
flict? Yes.  Let  all  the  Church  say.  Amen.  Could 
we  feel  upon  this  subject  as  we  should,  we  would 
soon  awake  one  and  all  from  our  slumber  and  feel 
the  importance  of  establishing  an  institution  of 
learning  in  the  Church,  to  be  controlled  by  the 
sanctifying  influence  of  tlie  Christian  religion. 

"In  conclusion,  we  wish  to  say  to  the  Miami, 
Muskingum,  and  other  annual  conferences,  should 
you  at  some  future  day  agree  to  cooperate  with  the 
Scioto  and  the  Sandusky  conferences  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  Otterbein  University,  you  can 
have  the  opportunity.  The  institution  may  at 
some  day  not  very  remote,  have  connected  mth  it 
the  'Manual  Labor  System.'  This  will  depend, 
however,  upon  our  success  in  raising  funds.  Suit- 
able land  can  be  had  adjoining  the  institution. 

"We  have  very  briefly  and  candidly  given  our 
views  in  behalf  of  the  board  of  trustees  whom  we 
represent,  cherishing  at  the  same  time,  unabated 
esteem  toward  our  good  brethren  from  whose  views 
we  honestly  dissent.  We  award  to  them  cheerfully 
the  enjoyment  of  their  own  sentiments  and  the  full 
and  candid  expression  of  their  own  opinions.    And 

62 


Agitation  and  Debate 

now  all  we  ask  is  to  be  treated  with  Ckristian 
courtesy  and  not  have  put  upon  us  positions  that 
we  have  never  taken ;  and  further,  either  to  con- 
vince us  of  wrong,  from  the  Bible  or  Discipline,  or 
allow  us  peaceably  and  kindly  to  do  what  we  are 
perfectly  willing  that  they  may  not  do. 

"With  the  kindest  feelings  and  no  other  object 
than  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  mankind  in 
view,  we  subscribe  ourselves  the  humble  servants 
of  the  Church. 

"Wm.  Hanby, 
"Lewis  Davis. 

"Circleville,  Ohio,  May  4,  1847." 

The  agitation  and  debate  of  which  the  general 
drift  and  character  is  indicated  above,  continued 
quite  active  for  several  years,  and  the  controversial 
literature  pro  and  con  became  quite  voluminous. 
Not  infrequently  in  the  same  issue  of  the  Religious 
Telescope  appeared  announcements  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  educational  work  as  represented  in  Otr 
terbein  University,  and  communications  earnestly 
arguing  the  impolicy  and  danger  of  the  work.  In 
this  there  is  found  a  fine  illustration  of  the  spirit 
of  fair  play  and  free  discussion  which  has  so  gen- 
erally characterized  the  Church.  The  communi- 
cations of  those  who  opposed  the  founding  of  a 
college  indicated  that  they  feared  that  the  college 
would  introduce  into'  the  ministry  of  the  Church 
persons  educated  but  destitute  of  spiritual  life  and 
experience,  and  that  the  Church  would  decline  in 
spiritual  power.  The  conception  of  the  opposition 
seemed  to  be  that  uneducated  persons  could  not 

63 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

preach  without  conversion  and  a  true  spiritual 
life,  but  that  educated  persons  could.  In  support 
of  their  contentions  they  alleged  that  Otterbein 
and  his  colaborers  as  well  as  Wesley  and  his  co- 
laborers,  when  they  began  their  reformatory  labors, 
found  the  churches  largely  with  educated  but  un- 
converted ministers  in  their  pulpits  and  with  many 
of  their  cultured  members  destitute  of  practical 
piety.  Hence  they  concluded  that  education  and 
the  colleges  were  responsible  for  the  low  spiritual 
life  which,  it  is  now  generally  conceded,  prevailed 
in  the  churches  when  Otterbein  began  his  labors 
among  the  Germans  and  Wesley  among  the  Eng- 
lish. The  most  formidable  opposition  which  these 
flaming  evangelists  encountered  came  from  min- 
isters and  laymen  who  have  been  trained  in  the 
colleges,  and  as  a  consequence  many  of  the  fol- 
lowers both  of  Otterbein  and  Wesley  distrusted 
and  feared  education  and  the  colleges  as  hostile 
to  the  purity  and  spirituality  of  the  church.  As 
the  debate  however  proceeded  it  was  made  plain 
that  education  and  the  colleges  were  not  responsi- 
ble for  the  deplorable  spiritual  condition  of  the 
churches,  and  the  sentiment  in  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church  began  rapidly  to  change  from  compar- 
ative indifference  to  interest,  and  from  opposition 
to  support,  and  the  triumph  of  education  and  the 
college  in  the  Church,  which  has  since  occurred, 
was  clearly  foreshadowed. 

As  a  kind  of  last  resort,  imder  the  leadership  of 
Bishop  John  Russel,  who  was  perhaps  the  ablest 
and  most  influential  opponent  of  the  project  of 
founding  a  college,  the  contention  was  raised  that 

64 


Agitation  and  Debate 

the  General  Conference  of  1845,  in  authorizing 
the  work  and  referring  it  to  the  annual  confer- 
ences, did  not  reflect  the  sentiment  of  the  body  of 
the  Church  and  the  demand  was  made,  in  the  al- 
leged interest  of  the  peace  and  unity  of  the 
Church,  that  the  work  be  delayed  until  after  the 
ensuing  General  Conference,  which  would  meet 
in  May,  1849.  It  was  contended  that  in  the  elec- 
tion of  delegates  to  this  conference  the  edvicational 
work  could  be  made  an  issue  and  thus  the  will  of 
the  Church  be  definitely  determined.  The  men 
however  who  had  put  their  hands  to  this  educa- 
tional work  were  courageous  and  determined  and 
would  brook  no  delay,  and  the  rising  tide  of  edu- 
cational sentiment  in  the  Church  could  not  be 
stayed,  and  so  it  happened  that  before  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Conference  of  1849,  the  founda- 
tions of  Otterbein  University  were  securely  laid 
and  the  work  of  higher  education  in  the  Church 
was  successfully  inaugurated. 


G5 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTER   V. 

The    Opening    of    Otterbein    University — Beginning    of    Its 
Work. 

The  board  of  trustees  whicli  met  for  its  first 
session  in  Westerville,  April  26,  1847,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  decided  that  the 
institution  should  be  thrown  open  for  the  reception 
of  students  and  should  begin  its  work  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  September,  1847.  A  committee, 
vnth  Rev.  L.  Davis  as  chairman,  was  appointed  to 
see  that  all  needed  repairs  upon  the  buildings  and 
improvements  in  the  campus  be  made  that  every 
thing  might  be  in  readiness  to  open  the  institution 
at  the  time  designated.  A  proposition  from  Mr.  W. 
R.  Griffith,  about  to  graduate  from  Indiana  As- 
bury  (now  DePauw)  University,  to  take  charge  of 
the  institution  was  considered  and  his  employment 
decided  upon.  Mr.  Griffith  was  the  son  of  Rev. 
James  Griffith  of  the  Wabash  Conference  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  and  affords  an  illustra- 
tion of  what  an  increasing  number  of  the  youth 
were  doing  in  going  to  the  colleges  of  sister 
churches  because  the  United  Brethren  Church  had 
no  such  institutions. 

In  view  of  the  inexperience  of  the  board  in  col- 
lege work,  the  secretary,  Rev.  Wm.  Hanby,  was 
directed  to  correspond  with  the  managers  of  some 
of  the  leading  colleges  of  the  country  and  gather 

66 


The  Beginning  of  Its  Work 

information  as  to  the  proper  government  and 
management  of  colleges.  After  the  board  had 
transacted  all  the  business  deemed  necessary,  it  ad- 
journed to  meet  on  the  thirty-first  day  of  August, 
the  day  preceding  the  opening.  On  the  day 
appointed  the  board  met  and  completed  arrange- 
ment with  Professor  Griffith  to  take  charge  of  the 
institution  under  the  title  of  principal.  It  also 
decided  to  employ  Miss  C.  Murray  as  a  lady 
teacher.  Thus  the  institution  began  its  career, 
as  it  has  ever  since  continued,  with  both  sexes  rep- 
resented in  its  teaching  force. 

At  nine  o'clock  a.m.,  September  1,  1847,  a 
goodly  number  assembled  in  the  little  chapel  of 
the  white  frame  building,  which  at  that  time  con- 
stituted the  main  college-building,  for  the  opening 
exercises.  A  portion  of  Scripture  was  read  and 
there  was  an  earnest  prayer  for  the  blessing  and 
guidance  of  God  in  the  new  enterprise,  that  it 
might  prove  a  great  blessing  to  the  Church  and 
promote  the  glory  of  God.  The  opening  address 
was  then  delivered  by  Principal  Griffith.  As  this 
was  the  first  address  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of 
the  Church,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  key- 
note, the  concluding  portion  is  here  inserted. 

"Education,  in  itself  considered,  is  either  right 
or  wrong,  and  those  engaged  in  promoting  it  are, 
so  far  as  this  work  is  concerned,  doing  right  or 
they  are  doing  wrong.  If  it  is  wrong,  then  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  Church  to  exert  her  influence 
against  it,  not  only  by  withdrawing  her  support, 
but  by  enjoining  upon  her  members  to  separate 
themselves  from  it  and  by  instructing  her  minis- 

67 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ters  in  tlie  sacred  desk  to  raise  their  voices  against 
it  and  not  to  cease  their  opposition  until  it  shall 
have  been  driven  from  the  earth.  If  it  is  right, 
then  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  engage  in  it 
so  far  as  she  is  able.  This  duty  arises  from  her 
obligation  to  do  good,  and  it  applies  with  equal 
force  to  every  branch  of  thei  Church.  That  which 
would  excuse  one  would  relieve  another.  And 
shall  Protestants  give  up  the  learning  of  the  age 
into  the  hands  of  infidels  and  of  Catholics  ?  Shall 
they  discard  science  as  the  destroyer  of  religious 
purity  and  the  enemy  of  human  happiness  ?  If 
they  do,  what  will  be  the  destiny  of  Christianity 
and  all  regulated  liberty,  even  here  in  this  our 
favored  and  happy  country  ?  Look  to  France  in 
the  bloody  revolution,  when  and  where  there  were 
enacted  deeds  of  unparalleled  infamy  and  burning 
shame,  and  you  will  see  the  effects  following  when 
infidelity  sits  in  power,  'Then  it  was,'  says  an 
eloquent  writer,  Hhat  their  national  assembly 
voted  tlie  great  God  out  of  the  universe  and  caused 
to  be  inscribed  in  gloomy  capitals  over  the  gates  of 
their  sepulchres,  "Death  an  eternal  sleep."  Then  it 
was  that  everything  virtuous  and  good  was  sacri- 
ficed to  ambition  and  jealousy.  Then  it  was  that  in- 
stead of  domestic  peace  and  individual  happiness, 
insurrections  and  wars  prevailed,  and  in  the  streets 
were  made  to  run  rivers  of  blood.  The  Sabbath 
was  abolished,  the  Bible  burnt,  religion  and  hu- 
manity mocked,  civil  progi'ess  stayed,  and  national 
interests  subverted.  Earth  never  saw  a  more  hor- 
rid spectacle  and  civil  society  never  suffered  more.' 

68 


The  Beginning  of  Its  Work 

"And  what  better  could  result  if  the  Catholic 
Church  should  come  into  supreme  authority  ? 
What  she  would  do  may  be  known  by  what  she 
has  done. 

"I  have  seen  the  idea  somewhere  advanced  that 
this  happy  coimtry  is  to  be  the  theater  where 
Romanism  will  make  a  mighty  struggle  to  restore 
her  lost  grandeur ;  and  so  it  would  seem.  She  is 
building  churches  and  establishing  colleges  in 
every  section  of  our  country  and  proffering  to  edu- 
cate our  children.  Her  efforts  are  not  in  pro- 
portion to  the  encouragement  she  receives — she 
has  her  eye  on  the  future.  If  Protestants  neglect 
to  provide  for  the  education  of  their  children, 
Catholics  will  educate  them,  and  what  will  be  the 
effect?  How  many  of  your  daughters,  educated 
in  Catholic  schools,  have  taken  the  veil  and  forever 
shut  themselves  up  within  the  gloomy  walls  of  the 
convent  ?  And  what  is  there  more  forbidding  and 
unnatural  than  this  superstitious  consecration,  this 
wicked  separation  from  the  business  and  duties  of 
life?  Yet  these  things  are  increasing  rapidly 
in  our  country.  Baltimore,  Boston,  and  IsTew  York 
have  seriously  felt  their  influence.  How  shall  we 
counteract  her  growing  power  ?  How  can  we  ? 
We  answer.  There  is  but  one  way,  and  that  is  by 
active  industry  in  establishing  and  supporting 
Protestant  schools.  Sectarian  interests  and  prej- 
udices ought  not  to  have  any  influence  here,  but 
every  Protestant  ought  to  labor  to  support  Prot- 
estant schools.  We  ought  to  make  this  a  common 
cause.  Whether  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Methodist, 
or  United  Brethren  we  ought  all  to  unite  and  co- 

69 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

operate  heartily  in  tliis  work.  The  interests  of 
Christianity,  and  the  prosperity  of  our  government 
alike  demand  it.  If  we  are  not  united  the  Inqui- 
sition, with  all  its  cruelty,  may  yet  be  established 
among  us  and  we  b©  made  to  feel  its  power;  but 
if  we  will  labor  as  did  the  fearless  and  devoted 
Luther,  not  only  to  expose  the  corruptions  of  this 
city  of  Babylon,  but  to  diffuse  Christian  truth  both 
in  its  theory  and  practice,  we  may  yet  paralyze 
her  efforts,  and  this  humanity  and  religion  each 
calls  upon  us  to  do.  My  brethren,  will  we  engage 
to  do  our  part  ?  Will  we  exert  our  influence  in  be- 
half of  sound.  Christian  learning?  To-day  we 
commence  our  efforts  and  oh,  let  us  labor  and  pray 
that  it  be  not  a  feeble  effort.  Let  us  be  united  and 
concentrate  our  efforts.  Let  us  feel  as  though  we 
had  a  work  to  do  in  common  with  our  sister 
churches — one  which  involves  the  interests  of  the 
American  people,  and  let  us  ask  the  blessing  of 
Him  who  holds  the  destinies  of  nations  in  his 
hands  upon  our  labors,  and  success  will  crown  our 
efforts." 

Only  eight  students  entered  on  its  opening  day 
and  the  institution  began  its  work  in  a  very  small 
and  humble  way.  The  number  of  students,  how- 
ever, during  the  first  year  reached  eighty-one — 
fifty-two  gentlemen  and  twenty-nine  ladies.  The 
purpose  of  its  projectors  is  thus  modestly  set  forth 
in  the  first  catalogue:  "Its  friends  desire  to  build 
up  a  school  in  which  their  sons  and  daughters,  to- 
gether with  others  who  may  wish  to  patronize  the 
institution,  may  receive  a  sound  education.     It  is 


The  Beginning  of  Its  Work 

now  in  its  infancy,  having  been  in  operation  but 
one  year.  The  facilities  of  older  institutions  are 
not  now  claimed,  but  efforts  are  being  put  forth  to 
make  it  in  every  respect  what  it  should  be." 

The  students  at  first  were  quite  elementary  and 
miscellaneous  in  their  stage  of  advancement  and 
there  was  no  attempt  at  classification,  except  as  to 
sex.  For  a  number  of  years  the  work  of  the  insti- 
tution was  not  above  that  of  a  high  school  or  acad- 
emy. Professor  Griffith  continued  at  the  head  of 
the  institution  with  the  title  of  principal  for  two 
years  when,  in  1849,  Rev.  Wm.  Davis  of  Cincin- 
nati, a  member  of  the  Miami  Conference,  was 
elected  president.  Professor  Griffith  was  elected 
professor  of  languages,  and  Mr.  Sylvester  Dill- 
man,  a  student  in  Oberlin  College,  was  elected  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics,  and  Miss  Lucy  Carpenter, 
principal  of  the  Ladies'  Department,  Miss  Sylvia 
Carpenter,  a  sister  who  had  held  the  position  dur- 
ing the  college  year,  1848-49,  retiring.  Rev.  Wm. 
Davis,  the  president-elect,  did  not  seem  disposed 
to  take  hold  of  the  duties  of  the  position,  and  the 
relation  was  largely  nominal  and  continued  but 
for  one  year. 

It  was  in  1849  that  the  first  and  only  suspension 
of  the  work  of  the  institution  during  the  sixty 
years  of  its  history  occurred.  In  that  year  the 
Asiatic  cholera  broke  out  in  the  neighboring  city 
of  Columbus,  and  a  few  cases  were  reported  in 
Westerville.  This  produced  such  a  panic  among 
the  students  that  it  was  deemed  wise  to  close  the 
school  on  the  nineteenth  of  July,  about  one  month 
before  the  regular  closing  time. 

71 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

At  the  session  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  1850, 
Kev.  L.  Davis  who,  as  already  stated,  was  identi- 
fied with  the  work  of  the  college  from  the  very 
beginning  as  general  agent,  as  treasurer,  as  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  trustees,  and,  indeed,  as  gen- 
eral-purpose man  for  any  service  required,  was 
elected  president,  and  was  really  the  first  to  actu- 
ally serve  in  this  capacity.  Alexander  Bartlett 
from  Oberlin  College,  was  elected  professor  of 
ancient  languages  in  place  of  Professor  W.  R. 
Griffith  who  had  resigned,  and  who,  as  principal, 
had  taught  the  ancient  languages. 

In  1851,  John  Haywood,  a  graduate  of  Oberlin 
College  of  the  class  of  1850,  was  chosen  professor 
of  mathematics  and  the  natural  sciences,  succeed- 
ing Professor  Sylvester  Dillman  in  this  position. 
Professor  Haywood  entered  upon  his  duties  on  the 
nineteenth  of  March,  1851,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  five  years,  from  1862  to  1867,  his  connection 
with  the  faculty  of  the  imiversity  was  continuous 
to  the  time  of  his  recent  death  on  December  12, 
1906,  a  period  of  a  little  over  fifty  years,  which  is 
the  record  period  at  this  date.  His  period  of  active 
service,  however,  covered  only  thirty-seven  years, 
having  held  an  emeritus  relation  from  1893  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  Coming  to  the  university  at  so 
early  a  period,  his  service  w^as  imique  in  character 
and  importance.  Associated  wdth  those  largely 
who  were  inexperienced  in  the  work  of  higher  edu- 
cation, he  was  given  a  free  hand  in  giving  it  shape 
and  direction,  not  simply  in  the  university,  but  in 
the  United  Brethren  Church.  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity being  the  first  college  of  the  Church,  naturally 

72 


The  Beginning  of  Its  Work 

became  a  model  for  those  founded  later,  and  her 
graduates  were  largely  drawn  upon  to  man  them, 
especially  in  their  earlier  years.  By  his  sterling 
qualities  as  a  man,  he  was  enabled  to  inspire  the 
youth  who  came  under  his  instruction  with  the 
idea  that  their  education  was  intended  to  fit  them 
for  service,  and  so  when  they  went  forth  into  the 
world  they  have  quite  generally  gotten  hold  of  the 
world's  work  somehow,  somewhere  in  a  way  to  up- 
lift and  bless.  All  over  our  o'wn  land  and  in  lands 
far  away,  there  are  those,  once  his  pupils,  who  will 
cherish  and  revere  his  memory  with  gratitude  for 
the  service  he  rendered  them  and  the  service  he 
inspired  them  tO'  render.  It  is  in  this  way  that  the 
work  of  Professor  Haywood,  who  now  rests  from 
his  labors,  still  goes  forward  in  the  world. 

It  was  also  in  1851  that  Miss  Sylvia  Carpenter 
returned  to  the  university  as  principal  of  the 
Ladies'  Department,  in  which  position  she  served 
until  1854,  meanwhile,  in  1852,  becoming  the  wife 
of  Professor  Haywood.  She  was  a  capable  and 
faithful  teacher,  and  a  noble  woman,  and  by  her 
intelligent  interest  and  wise  counsel  continued  an 
important  factor  in  the  work  of  the  university 
down  to  the  time  of  her  death,  which  occurred  in 
1886.  Beginning  her  service  in  1848,  the  second 
year  of  the  university,  she  well  deserves  to  be  reck- 
oned among  the  worthy  pioneers  of  the  educational 
work  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 

In  1852  James  Martling,  from  Oberlin  College, 
succeeded  Professor  Alexander  Bartlett  as  pro- 
fessor of  ancient  languages,  who  in  turn  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Ralph  M.  Walker,  from  Grand  River 

73 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Institute,  Austinburg,  Ohio.  He  held  the  pro- 
fessorship of  ancient  langauges  until  1858,  and 
then  the  professorship  of  the  Latin  language  and 
literature  until  1862,  together  a  period  of  nine 
years.  He  was  a  slender,  wiry  man,  an  able  and 
faithful  teacher,  critical,  precise,  and  exacting,  the 
admiration  of  the  diligent  and  faithful  and  the 
terror  of  the  idle  and  careless  student. 

The  course  of  study  which  appears  in  the  cat- 
alogue for  1852  is  quite  incomplete,  covering  only 
four  years,  including  preparatory  studies,  with 
no  distinction  between  preparatory  and  college 
studies.  To  this  course  of  studies  the  following 
paragraph  was  appended: 

"It  is  not  pretended  that  the  above  is  a  regular 
collegiate  course,  but  one  adapted  to  our  present 
circumstances."  There  was  still  no  classification 
of  students,  except  as  to  sex.  Up  to  this  time  the 
students  were  very  transient,  most  of  them  attend- 
ing but  a  term  or  two.  A  few,  however,  were  con- 
tinuous in  attendance,  and  were  anxious  for  classi- 
fication in  courses  leading  to  graduation.  Indeed, 
some  were  seriously  discussing  the  question  of 
seeking  another  college  unless  they  were  given 
classification  in  courses  leading  to  degrees.  Prob- 
ably the  principal  reason  why  no  complete  courses 
were  devised,  up  to  this  time,  was  that  the  teaching 
force  was  not  sufficient  to  carry  such  a  course,  and 
in  the  straitened  financial  condition  of  the  insti- 
tution it  seemed  very  difficult  to  bear  the  expense 
of  the  additional  professors  needed.  The  prospect, 
however,  of  losing  a  number  of  the  more  advanced 

74 


The  Beginning  of  Its  Work 

students  aroused  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  at  the 
session  of  1853  the  following  was  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  a  college  course  be  at  once 
adopted  in  the  Otterbein  University,  and  that  the 
faculty  be,  and  is  hereby  appointed  to  make  out  a 
regular  course." 

The  Board  also  appointed  the  Executive 
Committee,  in  conjunction  with  the  president 
of  the  college,  to  secure  an  additional  profes- 
sor, which  it  was  thought  would  be  a  sufficient 
addition  to  meet  the  immediate  want.  The 
professor  procured  at  this  time  was  Ralph  M. 
Walker,  already  mentioned.  In  the  catalogue  for 
1853,  evidently  published  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  Board,  there  appears  for  the  first  time  a 
regular  college  course,  and  also  a  young  ladies' 
course.  This  action  was  satisfactory  to  the  stu- 
dents, and  they  remained  and  prosecuted  their 
studies,  a  number  of  them  to  graduation.  The  col- 
lege thus  early  displayed  its  power  to  hold  its 
students,  a  power  which  it  has  ever  since  main- 
tained. Only  in  the  rarest  instances  have  students, 
after  reaching  advanced  positions  in  Otterbein 
University,  gone  to  other  colleges  to  complete  their 
course.  The  very  few  who  have  gone  have  had  no 
difficulty  to  take  the  same  rank  in  the  most  noted 
colleges  that  they  had  reached  in  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity. With  the  framing  of  these  courses  and  the 
classification  of  students,  Otterbein  University 
may  be  said  to  have  entered  upon  its  proper  col- 
legiate career. 

The  faculty  remained  unchanged  from  1853  to 
the  graduation  of  the  first  class  in  1857,  except 

75 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

that  Miss  Martha  A.  Perrin  served  as  principal  of 
the  Ladies'  Department  for  the  college  year 
1854-5,  and  Miss  Mary  L.  Gilbert  for  the  six  years 
beginning  in  1856.  For  scA^eral  years  before  the 
graduation  of  the  first  class,  anniversary  exercises 
were  held  at  the  close  of  the  college  year,  at  which 
advanced  students  presented  productions  after  the 
manner  of  graduates  at  commencements.  These 
exercises  were  held  under  a  large  canvas  tent  west 
of  the  college  chapel,  as  the  white  frame  building 
was  called,  the  chapel  being  quite  too  small  to  ac- 
commodate the  crowd.  Under  the  same  canvas 
tent  the  first  commencement  exercises  were  held 
June  24,  1857.  There  were  two  lady  graduates. 
Miss  M.  Kate  Winter,  yet  living  as  the  widow  of 
a  noted  graduate  of  Otterbein  University,  Ben- 
jamin R.  Hanby,  autlior  of  "Darling  I^elly 
Gray" ;  and  Miss  S.  Jennie  Miller,  long  since 
dead.  President  L.  Davis,  in  delivering  the 
diplomas,  addressed  the  class  as  follows  :* 

"I  congratulate  you,  ladies,  in  being  the  first 
graduates  of  this  institution.  If  we  could  lift  the 
veil  that  hides  the  future  from  our  sight,  we 
should  doubtless  see  a  long  line  of  educated  Chris- 
tians who  will  go  forth  from  this  institution,  and 
you  are  the  beginning,  you  are  the  first  on  the 
list. 

"You  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  this  college 
stands.  You  may  have  had  difficulties,  but  dili- 
gence and  perseverance  have  enabled  you  to  over- 


*While  the  author  was  present  and  heard  the  address,  he 
is  indebted  to  Mr.  Jacob  Burgner,  of  the  class  of  1859,  a 
stenographer,   for  the   copy  given. 

76 


The  Beginning  of  Its  Work 

come  all  these,  and  in  the  judgment  of  the  trustees 
and  faculty  you  well  deserve  the  honors  of  the  in- 
stitution. 

"You  have  not  impaired  your  health,  concern- 
ing which  your  teachers  felt  a  deep  interest. 

"In  relation  to  your  mental  improvement,  you 
found  at  the  threshold  of  the  entrance  to  knowl- 
edge that  you  had  to  deal  with  facts,  but  you 
soon  found  that  facts  only  conduct  the  mind  to  the 
discovery  of  systematized  truth.  Mind  loves  order, 
harmony,  unity,  beauty  of  connection ;  but  even 
here  the  mind  is  in  want  of  a  science  that  overleaps 
the  bounds  of  time  and  sense,  and  takes  hold  of 
infinity.  Science  dwells  in  the  bosom  of  God,  and 
her  voice  is  the  harmony  of  the  world. 

"In  relation  to  your  moral  improvement,  I  am 
happy  to  know  that  you  have  said  for  the  first  time 
in  your  hearts,  'Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?' 

"Whatever  may  be  the  strength  and  vigor  of 
your  minds ;  whatever  the  amount  of  influence  you 
may  exert  upon  society — with  the  simplicity  of  a 
child,  lay  it  all  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  remembering 
that  science,  like  the  moon,  can  only  shine  through 
the  medium  of  another.  Then  we  are  happy  to  be 
able  to  return  you  to  the  bosom  of  your  friends, 
as  we  trust,  wiser  and  better  than  when  you  came 
among  us." 

President  Davis,  having  been  reelected  a  bishop 
by  the  General  Conference  held  in  May,  1857,  re- 
signed the  presidency  of  Otterbein  University  at 
the  Board  session  held  in  June  of  that  year.  Pro- 
fessor Ralph  M.  Walker  was  appointed  to  serve  as 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

acting  president  for  the  ensuing  year,  when  at  its 
session  in  1858  the  board  elected  Rev,  Alexander 
Owen  preident,  a  member  of  the  Allegheny  Con- 
ference, who  was  at  the  time  editor  of  the  Unity 
Magazine,  at  Dayton,  Ohio.  He  served  with  abil- 
ity and  faithfulness  until  1860,  when,  on  account 
of  impaired  health,  he  resigned,  and  the  Board 
again  elected  Rev.  L.  Davis,  though  his  term  as 
bishop  had  not  yet  expired.  President  Davis  then 
continued  to  serve  until  1871,  when  he  was  called 
to  a  professorship  in  Union  Biblical  Seminary, 
which  was  founded  in  that  year. 

The  only  persons  not  before  mentioned  who  were 
members  of  the  faculty  down  to  1860,  the  pioneer 
period  of  the  university,  were  Jacob  Zeller,  who 
served  as  tutor  in  languages  in  1857-8 ;  Rev.  S.  W. 
Streeter,  who  served  at  professor  of  mental  philos- 
ophy in  1857-8,  and  professor  of  rhetoric  and 
belles-lettres  in  1858-60,  and  Lucian  H.  Ham- 
mond, who  served  as  professor  of  rhetoric  and 
belles-lettres  in  1857-8,  and  as  professor  of  Greek 
in  1858-62 ;  Rev.  J.  Degmeier,  who  served  as  pro- 
fessor of  modern  languages  in  1859-62,  and 
Thomas  McFadden  who  served  as  professor  of 
natural  science  in  1858-62.  As  the  latter  reentered 
the  faculty  in  1866  and  served  for  many  years,  a 
further  account  of  his  service  will  appear  in  a  sub- 
sequent chapter. 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University — Second  College  in  the 
World  to  Admit  Women  on  Equality  with  Men — Pop- 
ular Fallacies. 

Otterbein  University  has  been  a  coeducational 
college  from  the  beginning.  When  it  is  remem- 
bered that  when  Otterbein  University  was  founded 
Oberlin  College  was  the  only  coeducational  insti- 
tution in  the  country,  it  seems  a  little  remarkable 
that  the  fathers  of  the  United  Brethren  Church 
should  found  this  kind  of  an  institution,  appar- 
ently without  the  least  doubt  of  its  wisdom  and 
propriety.  The  Blendon  Yoimg  Men's  Seminary, 
of  which  Otterbein  University  may  be  regarded 
as  the  successor,  as  its  name  implies,  admitted  only 
gentlemen.  How,  then,  are  we  to  account  for  the 
course  of  the  fathers  in  establishing  a  coeducation- 
al college,  so  contrary  to  the  general  precedents  of 
the  time  ?  Doubtless  it  is  mainly  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  genius  and  general  spirit  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church.  This  Church  has  always  ac- 
corded to  women  a  high  place,  so  far  as  rights  and 
privileges  assured  by  the  polity  of  the  Church  are 
concerned,  a  position  of  equality  with  men.  Local 
church  officers,  such  as  stewards,  class-leaders, 
Sabbath-school  superintendents,  etc.,  are  elected 
by  popular  suffrage,  not  simply  of  men,  but  of 
women.  So  in  the  election  of  delegates  to  the 
General  Conference,  the  women  share  the  suffrage 
upon  entirely  equal  terms  with  men.     More  than 

79 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

this,  the  women  are  eligible  to  election  to  any  of 
the  positions  named,  and  have  been  chosen  and 
have  served  in  all  of  them.  When  women  came 
forward  with  the  conviction  that  God  called  them 
to  the  sacred  office  of  the  ministry,  they  found  no 
obstacles  in  the  polity  of  the  Church,  and  numbers 
of  them,  by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  are 
preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ.  When,  in  the 
exercise  of  the  popular  suffrage,  the  members  saw 
fit  to  elect  women  as  delegates  to  the  General  Con- 
ference, it  produced  no  commotion  or  trouble,  and 
required  no  special  modification  cf  the  polity,  but 
they  were  promptly  admitted  to  the  highest  coun- 
cil of  the  Church  without  question  or  doubt.  Surely 
it  is  not  strange  that  a  Church  thus  accustomed  to 
liberty  and  equality,  when  she  came  to  found  a 
college  should  throw  open  her  doors  on  equal  terms 
to  both  sexes.  IsTot  to  have  done  so,  while  it  would 
have  been  to  conform  to  the  policy  of  other 
churches,  for  her  it  would  have  been  an  exceptional 
discrimination  against  women. 

There  has  been  some  dispute  as  to  what  college 
is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  first  admitting  women  on 
terms  of  entire  equality  with  men.  In  a  paper  on 
"Horace  Mann  and  Antioch  College,"  read  by  Mr. 
W.  A.  Bell,  editor  of  the  Indiana  School  Journal, 
at  the  meeting  of  the  ISTational  Educational  Asso- 
ciation, held  at  Buffalo,  ISTew  York,  in  July,  1896, 
this  honor  is  claimed  for  Antioch  College,  at  Yel- 
low Springs,  Ohio.  In  this  paper  Mr.  Bell  says: 
"Up  to  the  time  of  opening  Antioch  (1853),  Ober- 
lin  is  the  only  college  that  had  opened  its  doors  to 
women."    As  Otterbein  University  was  founded  in 

SO 


Rev.  WILLIAM  HANBV 

An  Early  Financial  Agent 


Rev.  S.  M.  HIPPARD 

General  Financial  Agent 

for  Thirteen  Years 


Rev.  ,1.  1!.  i;i':sLKU 

One  of  tlie  Financial  Agents 
and  Solicitors 


Rev.  W.  slaughter 
One  of  the  First  Financial  Agents 


Miss  M.  L.  GUbert 
R.  M.  Walker 


ifacultp  of  1859 

John  Haywood 
L.  H.  Hammond 


Tliomas  McFadden 
S.  W.  Streeter 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  Univei'sity 

1847,  antedating  Antiocli  by  six  years,  and  as  al- 
ready stated,  admitted  women  from  the  beginning, 
it  is  plain  that  Mr.  Bell  is  in  error  in  this  state- 
ment. 

Again,  Mr.  Bell  says :  "Under  the  presidency  of 
Horace  Mann,  Antioch  College  was  the  first  college 
in  the  world  to  offer  women  absolutely  equal  edu- 
cational advantages  with  men."  Mr.  Bell  urges 
this  claim  against  Oberlin  College  on  the  ground 
that,  while  Oberlin  permitted  women  to  take  the 
regidar  bachelor's  course  required  of  young  men 
prior  to  the  founding  of  Antioch,  this,  he  claims, 
was  exceptional,  and  granted  to  a  few  ladies  as  a 
special  favor,  while  they  were  expected  to  take,  and 
generally  did  take  what  was  known  as  the  ladies' 
course,  which  "lacked  a  great  deal  of  being  equal 
to  the  regular  course  for  young  men."  Dr.  J.  B. 
Weston,  who  was  president  of  Antioch  College 
after  Horace  Mann,  claims  that  the  young  women 
who  pursued  the  full  classical  course  at  Oberlin 
were  not  recognized  as  on  an  equality  with  the 
young  men,  because  they  were  not  permitted  to 
present  their  own  productions  on  commencement 
day,  as  were  the  young  men.  Hence  he  claims 
that  three  young  women  who  graduated  from 
Antioch  College  in  its  first  class,  in  1857,  were  the 
first  who  completed  the  full  classical  course  and 
appeared  on  commencement  day  on  the  same  plat- 
form and  took  their  own  parts  in  full  equality  with 
men. 

The  practice  of  Oberlin  College  in  dealing  with 
young  women  graduates  is  thus  set  forth  by  the 
historian  of  Oberlin  College,  Ex-President  James 

fi  81 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

H.  Fairchild:  "When  the  first  class  of  yoiing 
women  had  completed  the  ladies'  course,  they 
were  not  brought  before  the  great  congregation  on 
commencement  to  read  their  essays.  They  called 
together  their  friends,  by  tickets  of  invitation,  the 
evening  before  commencement,  and  read  their 
essays  in  their  own  assembly-room,  receiving  no 
diplomas.  The  two  following  years  this  anniver- 
sary was  held  in  the  college  chapel  the  evening  be- 
fore commencement,  and  the  young  ladies  read 
before  as  large  an  assembly  as  the  chapel  could 
contain.  Theoretically  this  was  the  Ladies'  Anni- 
versary, and  not  a  part  of  commencement  proper, 
which  was  held  the  next  day  in  the  large  tent.  The 
next  year,  1843,  the  commencement  was  held  in 
the  large  new  church  not  yet  completed,  and  the 
young  women  of  the  ladies'  course  read  in  the 
same  church  the  preceding  afternoon,  and  re- 
ceived their  diplomas.  From  this  time  onward  the 
anniversary  of  the  Ladies'  Department  was  reck- 
oned as  a  part  of  the  commencement,  but  the  ar- 
rangement was  designed  to  indicate  that  it  was  the 
day  for  the  ladies  specially.  The  platform  was  oc- 
cupied by  the  Ladies'  Board  of  Managers,  and  the 
announcements  were  made  by  the  lady  principal, 
the  president  of  the  college  being  at  hand  to  open 
with  prayer  and  present  the  diplomas. 

"When  the  first  young  women  came  to  graduate, 
having  completed  the  full  college  course,  they  nat- 
urally felt  some  anxiety  as  to  the  place  that  should 
be  given  them  at  commencement.  It  was  proposed 
to  them  that  they  should  read  their  essays  on  the 
preceding   day,    with   the   young  women   of   the 

82 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University 

ladies'  course,  it  being  announced  that  they  had 
taken  the  full  college  course,  and  should  come  for- 
ward the  following  day  with  the  class  to  receive 
the  degree.  This  was  not  thought  to  provide  a 
suitable  discrimination,  and  to  avoid  the  impro- 
priety of  having  the  young  ladies  read  from  a  plat- 
form arranged  for  the  speaking  of  young  men,  and 
filled  with  trustees,  and  professors,  and  distin- 
guished gentlemen  visitors,  the  essays  of  the  lady 
college  graduates  were  read  by  the  professor  of 
rhetoric,  the  young  women  coming  upon  the  plat- 
form with  their  class  at  the  close  to  receive  their 
diplomas.  This  arrangement  was  continued 
eighteen  years,  but  became  less  and  less  satis- 
factory, and  in  1859,  for  the  first  time,  the  young 
women  were  permitted  to  read  their  own  essays 
with  the  graduating  class,  and  in  18Y4  a  young 
lady  graduate,  who  desired  it,  was  permitted  to 
speak  instead  of  reading  an  essay,  and  this  liberty 
is  still  accorded." 

In  Otterbein  University  there  never  has  been 
any  discrimination  against  young  women  grad- 
uates, whether  on  commencement  day  or  at  any 
other  time.  True,  there  was,  for  a  number  of  years 
a  ladies'  course  inferior  to  the  course  in  the  arts, 
but  there  was  at  the  same  time  a  minor  course  of 
the  same  grade  open  to  young  men,  while  the  reg- 
ular arts  course  was  always  open  on  precisely  the 
same  terms  to  both  sexes.  The  first  young  lady  to 
graduate  from  the  regular  arts  course  from  Otter- 
bein University  was  in  1860,  with  the  fourth  class 
that  graduated  from  the  institution.  On  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  Mr.  Bell  claims  for  Antioch  Col- 

83 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

lege  priority  to  Oberlin  College,  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity is  entitled  to  priority,  both  to  Antioch  and 
Oberlin.  A  fair  distribution  of  honors  would 
seem  to  be  to  give  to  Oberlin  the  honor  of  being 
the  first  to  graduate  young  ladies  from  the  regular 
arts  course  required  of  young  men  in  1841 ;  to  give 
to  Otterbein  University  the  honor  of  being  the 
first  to  throw  open  its  doors  to  young  women  with- 
out limitation  or  restriction  of  any  kind,  in  1847 ; 
and  to  Antioch  College  the  honor,  as  claimed  by 
Dr.  Weston,  of  being  the  first  to  send  forth  young 
women  graduates  on  terms  of  complete  equality 
with  men,  in  1857.  Upon  this  generous  distribu- 
tion of  honors  let  there  be  peace. 

The  first  young  lady  graduate  of  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity to  speak  instead  of  read  on  commencement 
day  went  forth  with  the  class  of  1868,  anticipating 
Oberlin  by  six  years.  Since  that  time,  unless  there 
was  a  representative  speaker,  the  rule  has  been  for 
young  ladies  to  speak,  the  exception  to  read,  on 
commencement  day.  The  United  Brethren  Church 
is  so  thoroughly  committed  to  the  policy  of  coedu- 
cation that  all  her  colleges  are,  and  always  have 
been  coeducational.  She  has  never  founded  an  in- 
stitution exclusively  for  ladies.  Even  her  theo- 
logical school.  Union  Biblical  Seminary,  is  open 
on  equal  terms  to  both  ladies  and  gentlemen.  It 
cannot  be  claimed  that  there  have  been  no  difficul- 
ties and  evils  connected  with  this  policy,  but  they 
have  not  been  serious,  and  upon  the  whole  it  has 
been  eminently  satisfactory.  Young  men  and 
women  have  been  associated  together  in  the  class- 
rooms, at  the  tables  of  the  boarding-halls,  and  in 

84 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University 

society,  with  nuitual  advantage.     In  very  rare  in- 
stances unwortliy  young  women  gained  admission 
to  the  institution  and  had  to  be  sent  home.    A  very 
few  young  men  have  been  dismissed  for  indiscreet 
deportment  toward  women,  not  members  of  the  col- 
lege, but  in  the  sixty  years  now  passed  into  history 
there  has  not  been  a  single  known  case  of  the  be- 
trayal of  a  young  lady  student.   Otterbein  Univer- 
sity has  found  the  coeducational  policy  eminently 
safe.     Indeed,  the  results  seem  to  show  that  the 
thousands  of  young  women  who  have  been  students 
in  the  college  have  been  quite  as  safe  as  they  would 
have  been  had  they  remained  in  their  own  homes. 
The  experience  of  Otterbein  University  goes  to 
prove  that  the  sexes,  always  together  while  growing 
up  in  the  home,  and  destined  to  live  together  after 
they  are  grown  up,  should  not  be  separated  during 
the  process  of  secondary  and     higher    education. 
The  normal  and  helpful  association  of  young  men 
and  women  in  college  is  the  best  safeguard  against 
the  temptation  to  abnormal  and  harmful  associa- 
tion.    As  to  matters  of  government  and  discipline, 
coeducation  relieves  and  simplifies  the  problem. 
The  tendencies  of  young  men  to  self-will,  rudeness, 
and  violence,  are  restrained  and  held  in  check  by 
association  with  the  more  gentle-natured  young 
women,   while  the  young  women   are  helped   to 
ease,  self-possession,  and  strength  by  their  associa- 
tion with  young  men.* 

So  in  the  matter  of  instruction  and  study,  coedu- 
cation has  decided  advantages.    It  tends  to  prevent 

*See  discussion  in  proceedings  of  Nat.  Ed.  Association, 
1890,   pp.   338-343. 

85 


History  of  Otterbeiu  University 

exclusiveness  and  one-sidedness  in  the  courses  and 
methods  such  as  will  result  in  an  unsymmetrieal 
and  thus  a  weak  development.  A  course  of  study- 
devised  with  careful  reference  to  the  wants  of  both 
young  men  and  young  women  will  better  meet  the 
wants  of  both  than  a  course  devised  with  exclusive 
reference  to  the  wants  of  each  will  meet  each.  If 
it  be  true  that  young  men  incline  more  to  the 
severer  studies,  such  as  mathematics  and  meta- 
physics, and  young  women  to  the  lighter  studies, 
such  as  literature,  poetry,  etc.,  for  this  very  reason 
there  should  be  coeducation  and  coeducational 
courses  of  study,  that  these  inclinations  may  mu- 
tually check  and  correct  each  other,  thus  assur- 
ing the  best  possible  training  and  development  for 
both.  As  a  practical  proof  may  be  cited  the  fact 
that  the  foremost  coeducational  institutions  have 
long  since  abandoned  their  so-called  ladies'  courses, 
which  were  supposed  to  be  especially  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  young  women,  and  now  expect  young 
men  and  women  to  pursue  the  same  courses.  It  is 
fair  to  conclude  that  these  institutions  would  not 
have  done  this  if  they  did  not  consider  the  latter 
course  better  than  the  former.  Experienced  edu- 
cators in  founding  coeducational  colleges  now — 
and  it  may  be  asked  whether  the  time  is  not  near 
at  hand,  if  it  has  not  already  arrived  when  expe- 
rienced educators  will  not  think  of  founding  any 
other  kind  than  coeducational  colleges — certainly 
would  not  deem  it  wise  to  provide  different  courses 
of  study  for  young  men  and  young  women.  Such 
educators  would  now  expect  to  meet  any  special 
needs  as  between  the  sexes,  as  they  meet  special 

86 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University 

needs  as  between  different  individuals  of  the  same 
sex,  by  a  variety  of  courses  of  study,  and  by  liberty 
of  selection  among  a  number  of  elective  studies. 
The  general  needs  of  both  sexes  are  the  same,  and 
the  best  education  to  meet  these  needs  is  identical. 
So  in  the  vs^ork  of  instruction  the  coeducational 
college  has  the  advantage  because,  if  consistent,  it 
has  both  sexes  represented  in  its  faculty.  Mr.  Bell, 
in  the  paper  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made,  says :    "Antioch  was  the  first  college  in  the 
world  to  admit  women  to  its  faculty."     Its  first 
faculty  contained  two  women.     As  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity has  had  women  in  its  faculty  from  its  foun- 
dation, in  1847,  to  the  present  time,  Mr.  Bell's 
claim  for  Antioch  in  this  respect  is  unfounded. 
This  is  not,  however,  a  matter    of    much    conse- 
quence.   The  matter  of  importance  is  that  the  best 
education  is  assured  where  both  sexes  are  not  sim- 
ply represented  in  the  student  body,  but  where 
both  sexes  are  represented  in  the  faculty  or  teach- 
ing body.     One  of  the  great  advantages  of  coedu- 
cation in  our  colleges  is  that  it  has  given  women  a 
place  in  the  faculty.  If  it  be  important  that  young 
men   and  women  be   associated   together  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  studies,  it  is  just  as  really  im- 
portant that  students  come  under  the  instruction 
of  both  men  and  women  as  teachers.     In  our  pri- 
mary and  secondary  schools  women  have  long  held 
a  large  and  prominent  place.    Indeed,  it  may  be  a 
question  whether  in  our  primary  schools  she  has 
not  gained  too  large  a  place  for  the  best  results.    It 
may  be  a  question  whether  the  children  in  the  pri- 
mary grades  are  not  too  exclusively  under  the 

87 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

tuition  of  a  lady  teacher.  The  paucity  of  women 
in  our  coeducational  college  is,  however,  as  yet  as 
marked  as  their  preponderance  in  our  primary 
schools.  It  may  be  expected  that  as  the  coeduca- 
tional system  in  our  colleges  is  extended  and  per- 
fected, women  will  fill  more  places  in  their  facul- 
ties. 

Coeducation  has  already  disposed  of  a  number 
of  popular  fallacies  which  were  widely  prevalent 
when  Otterbein  University  was  founded,  such  as 
that  women  do  not  desire  an  education  equal  to 
that  of  men ;  that  they  have  not  the  mental  capac- 
ity to  acquire  it ;  that  they  do  not  have  the  physi- 
cal strength  to  keep  equal  pace  with  men  in  its 
acquisition,  and,  finally,  that  they  do  not  need 
equal  education. 

As  to  the  question  whether  women  desire  equal 
education  with  men,  the  experience  of  Oberlin  is 
instructive.  No  one  can  read  the  paragraph 
quoted  from  the  history  of  Oberlin  in  this  chapter 
without  making  the  discovery  that  the  young 
women  who  entered  the  regular  arts  course  pur- 
sued by  the  young  men  did  not  do  so  because  they 
were  urged  or  even  invited  by  the  college  authori- 
ties. The  movement  started  among  the  young 
women  themselves,  through  the  impulse  of  their 
own  desires.  The  movement  was  yielded  to  with 
apparent  reluctance  and  by  piecemeal,  first  to  pur- 
sue the  arts  course  with  young  men,  but  not  to 
present  their  productions  on  the  same  day  at  com- 
mencement ;  then  to  appear  on  the  same  day  and 
platform  with  young  men  to  take  their  degrees,  but 
not  to  present  their  own  productions ;  then  the  last, 

88 


Coeducation  in  Ottevbein  University 

in  1859,  to  appear  without  limitation  or  restric- 
tion of  any  kind,  but  on  full  equality  with  men. 
Let  no  one  say  that  young  women  who  will  thus 
press  their  claims,  persevering  through  a  period  of 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  in  spite  of  all 
obstacles  and  discouragements,  until  at  last  their 
efforts  are  crowned  with  complete  success,  do  not 
desire  equal  education  with  men. 

So  the  movement  to  abolish  the  inferior  ladies' 
course  came  mainly  from  the  women  themselves. 
They  were  not  content  simply  to  win  the  privilege 
of  pursuing  the  regular  arts  course.  They  saw  in 
the  inferior  course  provided  for  ladies  an  impli- 
cation which  they  felt  to  resent,  and  they  did  not 
rest  until  this  course  was  abolished,  as  it  has  been 
by  most  reputable  coeducational  colleges. 

As  to  the  claim  that  young  women  have  not  the 
mental  capacity  for  equal  education  with  men,  it 
scarcely  deserves  serious  reply.  When  this  matter 
was  brought  to  a  fair  and  practical  test,  as  it  was 
in  the  coeducational  colleges  where  young  men  and 
women  appeared  in  the  same  classes  and  measured 
strength  with  each  other,  it  has  appeared  that  how- 
ever great  the  ability  of  the  young  men,  the  young 
women  would  not  infrequently,  in  spite  of  the  ut- 
most efforts  of  these  young  men,  distance  and  sur- 
pass them,  and  walk  off  with  the  honors  of  the  con- 
test. This  has  occurred  quite  too  often  to  allow 
young  men  to  plume  themselves,  as  a  class,  upon 
superior  mental  capacity.  The  uniform  testimony 
from  coeducational  colleges  is  that  where  women 
are  given  equal  opportimities  with  men,  they  will 
as  a  class  keep  well  abreast  of  them  in  mental 

89 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

acli]evement.  The  faculties  of  such  colleges  as 
unhesitatingly  and  confidently  admit  women  as 
men  to  the  regular  arts  course. 

Admitting,  however,  the  capacity  of  young 
women  to  master  the  same  courses  of  study  with 
young  men,  it  may  still  be  asked  whether  it  is  best 
for  them  to  pursue  such  a  course.  It  may  be  asked 
whether  woman's  mind  is  not  so  different  from 
man's  that  she  cannot  pursue  the  same  course  of 
study  as  man  without  losing  something  of  that  re- 
finement of  thought  and  charm  of  manners  so  de- 
sirable in  woman.  The  practice  of  coeducation 
affords  no  doubtful  answer  to  these  inquiries.  It 
has  shown  that  the  grace,  delicacy,  and  refinement 
of  woman's  mind,  instead  of  being  marred  or  de- 
stroyed by  pursuing  the  same  course  of  study  with 
young  men,  are  improved  and  intensified  by  being 
joined  with  somewhat  of  the  vigor  and  strength  of 
man's  mind,  just  as  the  vigor  and  strength  of  man's 
mind  are  improved  when  joined  with  the  grace  and 
delicacy  of  woman's.  It  has  shown  that  the  vigor 
and  strength  of  man's  mind  and  the  refinement 
and  delicacy  of  woman's  are  not  antagonistic,  but 
harmonious  characteristics,  and  that  coeducation 
is  the  best  system  because  it  assures  their  proper 
combination. 

The  apprehensions,  which  many  formerly  felt, 
that  young  women  had  not  the  physical  strength 
to  keep  pace  with  young  men  in  their  studies,  have 
also  proved  to  be  unfounded.  As  a  class  they  have 
endured  the  work  as  well  as  young  men,  and  fail- 
ure through  physical  weakness  has  not  been  ex- 
ceptionally common  among  women  students.     The 

90 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University 

fearful  consequences  which  were  predicted  if  there 
should  be  an  attempt  to  give  woman  an  equal  edu- 
cation with  man,  have  not  come  to  pass.  Dr. 
Clarke,  in  his  little  book,  "Sex  in  Education," 
written  about  a  third  of  a  century  ago,  inveighs 
vigorously  against  coeducation,  especially  if  it  be 
also  identical  education,  mainly  on  physiological 
gi'ounds.  "Appropriate  education,"  says  he,  "of 
the  two  sexes,  carried  as  far  as  possible,  is  a  con- 
summation most  devoutly  to  be  desired;  identical 
education  of  the  two  sexes  is  a  crime  before  God 
and  humanity  that  physiology  protests  against, 
and  that  experience  weeps  over."  These  words 
were  written  at  a  time  when  coeducation  in  our 
colleges  was  in  its  infancy,  and  experience  was 
very  limited.  Experience  since  Dr.  Clarke  wrote 
goes  to  show  that  his  apprehensions,  in  the  main, 
are  groundless.  It  is  fair  to  Dr.  Clarke  to  say  that 
his  contention  against  identical  education  was  on 
the  assumption,  an  assumption  which  was  much 
nearer  the  truth  than  it  is  now,  that  identical  edu- 
cation meant  that  young  women  pursue  courses  of 
study  devised  exclusively  for  young  men.  But  this 
is  no  longer  true  of  our  coeducational  colleges.  Both 
the  courses  and  methods  of  instruction  in  these  col- 
leges are  adopted  with  reference  to  the  physical  as 
well  as  mental  and  moral  wants  of  both  sexes.  The 
calamities  to  women  students  and  to  womankind  of 
which  he  gave  warning  have  not  come  to  pass.  In- 
deed, experience  seems  to  show  that  coeducation  re- 
sults not  only  in  a  better  mental  and  moral,  but 
also  a  better  physical  development.  Experience 
here  is  more  convincing  than  whole  volumes  of 

91 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

theory  and  speculation  bv  even  the  most  eminent 
physicians. 

The  notion  that  women  do  not  need  an  educa- 
tion equal  to  that  of  men,  once  well  nigh  universal, 
has  largely  disappeared  from  the  convictions  of  in- 
telligent persons.  Coeducational  colleges  them- 
selves, by  broadening  the  conception  of  woman's 
sphere  and  work,  had  very  much  to  do  with  expos- 
ing this  fallacy.  As  soon  as  woman  was  given 
equal  education  with  man,  the  discovery  was  made 
thai  much  work  which  it  had  been  thought  man 
alone  could  do,  woman  could  do  as  well  as  man,  and 
so  she  began  to  share  this  work  with  man.  In  the 
home  coeducation  did  much  to  elevate  the  concep- 
tion of  woman's  position  from  that  of  a  mere  doll 
or  drudge  to  that  of  a  queen,  with  duties  as  diffi- 
cult, delicate,  and  important,  and  as  much  demand- 
ing highest  education  as  any  duties  that  ever  fall  to 
the  lot  of  man.  Coeducational  colleges  were  the 
pioneers  to  open  the  way  to  woman  into  the  wider 
sphere  she  is  now  occupying  and  the  larger  work 
she  is  now  doing.  Woman  has  demonstrated  her 
need  of  an  education  equal  to  that  of  man  by  the 
equally  effective  use  she  has  been  able  to  make  of 
it  when  acquired.  In  literature,  art,  teaching,  and 
especially  in  moral,  social,  and  civil  reform  work, 
when  given  equal  education,  she  has  shown  herself 
to  be  a  worthy  peer  of  man.  Woman  is  much  in- 
clined to  the  work  which  the  world  most  needs,  and 
which  has  a  most  vital  bearing  upon  the  welfare  of 
mankind,  and  it  is  plain  that  for  such  work  she 
needs  an  education  in  no  respect  inferior  to  that  of 
man. 

92 


Coeducation  in  Otterbein  University 

As  yet  the  proportion  of  women  in  our  coeduca- 
tional colleges  is  not  equal  to  the  number  of  men, 
but  their  proportion  is  increasing,  and  is  doubtless 
destined  to  continue  increasing.  In  the  secondary 
schools  the  young  women  greatly  outnumber  the 
young  men — in  Ohio  in  the  proportion  of  more 
than  three  to  one — a  most  significant  fact,  which 
cannot  but  have  a  very  important  bearing  upon  the 
position  of  woman  in  relation  to  the  world's  work 
in  the  future.  As  the  number  of  coeducational  col- 
leges increases,  as  it  is  morally  certain  tO'  do,  and  as 
the  number  of  women  who  have  an  equal  education 
with  men  swells,  and  they  combine  their  cultured 
skill  and  power  with  man  to  solve  the  grave  prob- 
lems which  have  for  ages  bafiied  the  skill  of  man 
alone  to  solve,  we  may  confidently  expect  that  these 
problems  will  find  solution  and  the  race  advance  to 
a  higher  plane  of  civilization  and  welfare.  It  must 
ever  be  a  fact  of  great  historic  interest  that  Otter- 
bein University  stands  second  among  colleges  in 
the  world — Oberlin  holds  first  place — to  throw 
open  its  doors  to  both  men  and  women,  and  offer 
them  equal  education. 


93 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTEK  VII. 

Early  Financial  IMethods  and  Struggles — The  Work  of  the 
Agents — A  Dark  Crisis  Passed. 

Altogetlier  the  most  serious  and  difficult  part  of 
tlie  educational  problem  in  founding  and  main- 
taining Otterbein  University,  and,  indeed,  in  the 
development  of  the  entire  educational  work  of  the 
Church,  has  been  the  financial  part,  and  it  has 
been  in  this  part  of  the  work  that  results  have  been 
least  satisfactory,  1  hough  marked  by  some  grand 
achievements.  In  the  work  of  instruction  it  has 
always  been  possible  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
Church  fairly  well  as  they  arose.  In  the  earlier 
history  of  the  work  it  was  done  by  drawing,  to  a 
limited  extent,  upon  the  cultured  talent  of  other 
churches,  but  in  later  years  there  has  been  almost 
no  draft  upon  foreign  talent.  In  the  financial 
management  there  has  been  exclusive  reliance 
upon  the  home  talent  of  the  Church.  The  general 
agents,  managers,  and  soliciting  agents  have  all 
been  drawn  from  her  oa\ti  ranks,  and,  w^ith  very 
rare  exceptions,  from  the  ministry.  As  already 
explained,  the  purchase  of  Blendon  Young  Men's 
Seminary  was  consummated  by  Scioto  Conference 
without  a  dollar  of  money  in  hand  with  wliich  to 
make  payment.  The  purchase  price,  $1,300,  now 
seems  ridiculously  small  to  occasion  any  trouble, 
and  had  this  been  all,  there  certainly  would  have 
been  no  serious  trouble  to  secure  the  money.     The 

94 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

property  purchased,  however,  had  been  idle  for 
several  years  and  was  much  in  need  of  repairs, 
while  the  upper  story  of  the  brick  dormitory  was 
in  an  unfinished  condition.  The  white  frame 
building,  which,  at  the  tame,  constituted  the  main 
college-building,  was  soon  found  too  small  and  an 
addition  was  planned  and  built.  When  the  actual 
work  of  the  college  began,  it  was  speedily  discov- 
ered that  the  tuition  paid  by  the  students  was  not 
sufficient  to  pay  the  teachers,  beggarly  as  were  the 
salaries.  Deficits  were  also  found  in  the  boarding- 
hall  accounts,  in  the  funds  from  which  agents'  sal- 
aries and  expenses  were  paid,  etc.,  so  that  by  the 
time  the  original  debt  was  paid  a  much  larger  debt 
had  taken  its  place;  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
L.  Davis,  who  largely  bore  the  responsibility  of  the 
early  financial  management,  was  close  and  prudent 
almost  tOi  a  fault  in  his  financial  administration. 
Thus  very  early  in  its  career  the  needs  of  the  col- 
lege grew  more  rapidly  than  the  funds  could  be 
secured  to  meet  them,  and,  with  some  splendid 
reliefs  along  the  way,  this  has  been  the  case  ever 
since. 

To  meet  the  growing  indebtedness  and  provide 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  institution,  there 
seemed  no  practicable  way  except  to  appoint  solic- 
iting agents  and  send  them  out  through  the  con- 
ferences cooperating  with  the  college,  to  visit  the 
members  of  the  Church  at  their  homes  and  plead 
the  cause  of  the  college,  asking  them  for  their 
financial  support.  This  was  a  most  difficult  work, 
for  on  the  other  hand  was  a  Church  whose  members 
were  unaccustomed  to  such  solicitation,  and  who 

95 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

had  little  comprehension  of  the  financial  needs  of 
a  college,  and  on  the  other  hand  were  agents  en- 
tirely inexperienced  in  college  building  and  with 
little  better  comprehension  of  the  needs  of  the 
work  than   the  members  themselves.      It  is  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  the  sums  thev  asked  were 
quite  inadequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  college, 
and  that  even  these  inadequate  sums  seemed  ex- 
travagant to  the  persons  solicited,  and  were  fre- 
quently   refused   or   were   sharply    cut   down    in 
amount.     The  agents,  too,  seemed  able  to  secure 
but  a  very  small  proportion  of  their  solicitations 
in  cash,  in  many  cases  not  enough  to  pay  their 
own  salaries  and  expenses,  small  as  these  were. 
Instead  of  cash,  they  found  it  necessary  to  take 
notes  in  small  sums  on  long  time,  and  usually  with- 
out interest.     Sometimes  these  notes  were  made 
payable  in  annual  installments  covering  a  period 
of  five  or  more  years,  thus  greatly  increasing  the 
expense  by  the  visitations  and  labor  necessary  to 
collect.      The    soliciting   agents,    being   naturally 
anxious  to  make  as  good  a  showing  as  possible  by 
reporting  a  large  aggregate  solicited,  were  under  a 
constant  temptation  to  make  it  easy  for  donors  by 
granting  long  time  and  liberal  terms;  but  in  pro- 
portion as  terms  were  made  easy  to  those  who  gave, 
their  gifts  to  the  college  were  diminished  in  value. 
Upon  the  whole,  the  agency  system,  especially  in 
the  early  history  of  the  college,  proved  a  very 
costly  one.     Despite  the  meager  salaries  paid,  a 
heavy  per  cent,  of  the  money  solicited  was  con- 
sumed in  paying  the  salaries  and  expenses  of  the 
agents. 

96 


Rev    JONATHAN  WEAVER,  D.  D. 

Former  Financial  Agent  and  Solicitor 


Rev.  H.  a.  THOMPSON,  D.  D. 

President  for  Fourteen  Years  and  Member  of .tbejFaculty 
•ji_^  for  'Twenty  Years, 


Eai"ly  Financial  Struggles 

It  is  easy  to  criticize  these  pioneers  of  the  edu- 
cational work  of  the  Church  for  employing  so 
costly  a  method.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  it  would 
have  been  far  wiser  for  the  members  of  the  Church 
to  pay  the  money  needed  without  the  solicitation 
of  agents,  and  so  relieve  themselves  from  the  bur- 
den of  this  expensive  method.  It  would  have  been 
wiser,  doubtless,  if  the  members  had  furnished  the 
money  without  solicitation,  but  it  is  not  very  wise, 
when  the  condition  of  the  Church  at  that  early  day 
is  considered,  to  expect  tliat  they  would  do  so.  The 
mass  of  the  members  then  very  much  needed  infor- 
mation. They  needed  to  have  their  interest 
aroused  and  to  have  the  necessity  and  duty  of 
giving  to  this  work  pressed  home  closely,  and 
there  seemed  to  be  no  effective  way  to  do  these 
things  except  by  soliciting  agents.  The  soliciting 
agent  served  as  the  "schoolmaster  abroad"  to  carry 
on  a  campaign  of  education  in  the  Church ;  and 
the  cost  of  his  service  was  the  tuition  which  the 
members  paid  for  their  schooling.  Even  now, 
with  all  the  progress  which  has  been  made,  with 
all  the  knowledge  and  experience  which  has  been 
gained,  the  support  of  the  university  still  largely 
comes  from  those  who  would  not  give  if  soliciting 
agents  did  not  visit  them  and  appeal  to  them  face 
to  face.  If  the  alternative  still  is  to>  resort  to  the 
costly  method  of  employing  soliciting  agents  or 
fail,  much  more  was  this  true  at  the  beginning  of 
the  work. 

During  the  first  thirteen  years,  which  may  be 
considered  the  pioneer  period,  seventeen  persons 
labored  for  Otterbein  University  in  the  capacity  of 

7  97 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

soliciting  agents.  They  were  L.  Davis,  Joihn  Law- 
rence, Wm.  Slaughter,  Peter  Tabler,  Solomon 
Weaver,  A.  Winter,  Wm.  Hanby,  Henry  Kumler, 
J.  B.  Resler,  Jonathan  Weaver,  Levi  Moore,  W. 
G.  Wells,  Peter  Flack,  B.  E.  Hanby,  I.  A.  Coons, 
and  H.  Hain,  all  ministers  except  the  last  two. 
These  all  were  appointed  by  the  authority  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  college.  Besides  these,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  work,  a  few  agents  were 
appointed  by  the  annual  conferences  themselves  to 
labor  for  the  interests  of  the  college  in  the  bounds 
of  the  conferences  appointing  them.  This  plan 
was  designed,  in  part  at  least,  to  relieve  the  college 
from  the  burden  of  paying  the  salaries  of  the 
agents;  but  the  conferences,  having  no  fund  for 
the  payment  of  agents'  salaries,  and  these  agents, 
like  the  agents  employed  by  the  collie,  frequently 
not  securing  enough  cash  to  pay  their  own  salaries 
and  expenses,  found  the  plan  burdensome,  and  it 
was  used  to  only  a  limited  extent,  and  the  chief 
responsibility  for  the  solicitation  of  funds  has 
always  fallen  upon  the  college  itself.  It  is  fair  to 
state  that  the  fact  that  an  agent  did  not  solicit 
enough  cash  to  pay  his  own  salary  and  expenses 
did  not  necessarily  prove  such  agent  unsuccessful. 
There  were  some  such  agents  who  rendered  very 
valuable  service  to  the  college  in  the  large  pledges 
they  secured  in  the  form  of  notes.  The  persons 
among  whom  these  agents  labored,  as  a  class,  did 
not  have  large  possessions  and  did  not  have  much 
cash  in  hand,  and  the  alternative  often  was  either 
to  secure  little  or  nothing  for  the  college,  or  con- 
sent to  take  notes  payable  at  a  future  date.     Per- 

98 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

sons  wlio  could  not  or  would  not  give  more  tlian 
five  or  ten  dollars  in  cash,  could  often  be  induced 
to  give  fifty,  a  hundred,  five  hundred,  or  more  in 
the  form  of  notes.  This,  however,  involved  the 
necessity  for  the  college  to  borrow  the  money  to 
pay  these  salaries,  and  expenses  until  the  notes 
could  be  collected.  Thus,  early  in  the  history  of 
the  college,  by  force  of  necessity,  began  the  policy 
of  carrying  forward  the  work  of  the  college  in  part 
upon  borrowed  money,  a  policy  which  has  proved  a 
great  burden  and  has  cost  the  managers  of  the 
college  many  a  sore  struggle  to  command  the 
money  needed  and  meet  the  interest  claims. 

Of  the  seventeen  agents  employed  during  the 
first  thirteen  years,  only  seven  served  for  more 
than  one  year.     In  faithfulness  and  devotion  to 
the  work  there  was  probably  no  material  difference 
between  them,  but  in  skill  and  success  there  was. 
The  college  in  its  early  history  was  obliged  to  em- 
ploy men  inexperienced  and  untried,  and  learn 
who  could  serve  it  to  the  greatest  advantage  in  the 
relation  of  agent.    While  freely  admitting  the  im- 
portant service  rendered  by  some  who  continued  in 
the  service  for  but  a  short  time,  yet  it  may  be  said 
that,  in  general,  those  who  continued  for  a  series 
of  years  constitute  the  more  successful  class.     To 
this  latter  class  belong  seven  who  began  their  serv- 
ice during  the  first  thirteen  years.    They  are  Kevs. 
L.   Davis,  Wm.    Slaughter,   Peter  Tabler,   Peter 
Plack,  Jonathan  Weaver,  J.  B.  Kesler,  and  B.  E. 
Hanby.     These  all  were  successful  agents,  though 
several  of  them  rendered  their  chief  service  later 
than  the  first  thirteen  years.     Among  these  seven, 

99 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Revs.  L.  Davis,  Wm.  Slaughter,  Jonathan  Weaver, 
and  J,  B.  Resler  stand  preeminent,  both  as  to  the 
number  of  years  they  served  and  the  amount  of 
money  they  secured  for  the  college.  These  four 
could  succeed  where  others  would  fail,  and  where 
these  could  not  succeed,  few,  if  any,  could.  The 
money  brought  to  the  college  by  no  one  of  these 
four  agents  could  have  been  withheld  without 
seriously  crippling  and  perhaps  ruining  the  col- 
lege. 

Of  Rev.  L.  Davis,  who  easily  outranks  all,  be- 
cause he  was  the  first  in  this  field  of  work,  because 
he  served  the  college  the  longest,  and  because  he 
probably  brought  to  the  college  the  largest  aggre- 
gate of  money,  some  account  has  already  been 
given. 

Rev.  Wm.  Slaughter  began  his  service  for  the 
college  as  an  agent  in  1851,  and  immediately  gave 
evidence  of  superior  qualifications  for  this  work. 
Mr.  Slaughter  was  born  in  Pike  County,  Ohio,  in 
1816.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Scioto  Annual 
Conference,  in  which  he  rose  rapidly  to  a  position 
of  commanding  influence.  Without  the  advan- 
tages of  anything  more  than  a  common  school  edu- 
cation, he  was  a  man  of  good  native  gifts,  a  fluent 
speaker,  and  a  good  preacher.  He  was  a  man 
of  good  presence,  suave  manner,  and  pleasant 
address.  His  graces  of  manner  gave  him  wide  pop- 
ularity, and,  being  a  tireless  worker,  he  attained  a 
position  of  wide  influence  and  extensive  useful- 
ness. His  gifts  and  graces  were  a  good  equipment 
for  the  agency  work,  in  which  he  served  Otterbein 
University  for  eight  years  and  wrought  the  chief 

100 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

work  of  his  life.  In  this  service,  by  hard  work  and 
willing  sacrifice,  he  linked  his  name  with  Otter- 
bein  University  as  one  of  its  pioneer  workers. 
Such  was  his  recognized  skill  as  an  agent  that 
even  after  he  had  drifted  out  of  harmony  with  the 
Church  in  some  matters  of  polity,  on  account  of 
which  he  was  constrained  to  resign  his  agency,  he 
was  yet  appealed  to  by  the  executive  committee  of 
the  college  to  come  to  their  aid  in  carrying  the  col- 
lege through  some  threatening  financial  straits. 
He  responded  by  reentering  the  agency  tempo- 
rarily, and  so  inspired  the  confidence  and  enlisted 
the  interest  of  men  of  means  as  to  secure,  in  the 
form  of  loans  and  gifts,  the  money  needed,  and, 
probably,  was  instrumental,  at  the  time,  in  saving 
the  college  from  financial  ruin.  Mr.  Slaughter 
was  a  large  factor  in  the  early  history  of  Otterbein 
University.  He  died  in  ISYS,  in  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  and  sleeps  in  the  Otterbein  Cemetery,  Wester- 
ville,  Ohio,  near  the  university  he  served  so  efia- 
ciently. 

Kev.  Jonathan  Weaver  was  elected  an  agent  of 
Otterbein  University  in  1856,  but  did  not  enter 
into  the  service  of  the  college  until  1857,  when  he 
was  again  elected.  Mr.  Weaver  was  bom  in  Car- 
roll County,  Ohio,  in  1824.  His  early  educational 
advantages  were  limited  and  poor,  consisting  of 
the  country  public  schools  of  the  time,  supple- 
mented by  five  months  in  a  Presbyterian  academy 
at  Hagerstown,  Ohio.  He  entered  the  ministry 
and  became  a  member  of  the  Muskingum  Confer- 
ence in  184Y,  the  same  session,  as  recited  in  a 
previous  chapter,  at  Avhich  the  invitation  presented 

101 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

to  tlie  conference  through  Rev.  L.  Davis  to  cooper- 
ate with  Otterbein  University  was  rejected,  which 
action,  however,  was  reversed  at  the  following 
session  in  1848,  when  the  conference  voted  to  co- 
operate. He  applied  himself  closely  to  study  and 
rose  rapidly  to  a  position  of  prominence  and  influ- 
ence in  his  conference.  At  the  time  when  he  be- 
came an  agent  of  Otterbein  University,  in  1857, 
he  was  in  his  early  prime.  His  qualifications  for 
this  work,  which  he  always  regarded  as  the  most 
difficult  of  his  life,  were  a  genial  disposition,  hard, 
practical  common  sense,  and  a  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  the  class  of  persons  in  the  Church  from 
whom  the  means  for  the  support  of  the  college  were 
to  be  secured.  He  had  the  skill,  patience,  and  per- 
sistency to  press  his  case  to  success  with  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Church  without  giving  offense  to 
any.  He  had  a  peculiar  power  of  retaining  the 
good  will  of  those  he  pressed  hard  to  give  aid  to 
the  college.  He  could  always  return  with  cordial 
welcome  to  the  fields  he  had  canvassed  for  the  col- 
lege. This  was  not  true  of  all  agents.  Some,  even 
when  successful,  pursued  a  course  which  irritated 
the  people  to  such  an  extent  that  they  did  not  wish 
to  see  them  again.  This  was  never  true  of  Mr. 
Weaver.  After  having  served  in  the  agency  for 
eight  years,  traveling  east  and  west  in  the  territory 
of  the  college,  he  was  more  thoroughly  entrenched 
in  the  confidence  and  affections  of  the  Church  than 
ever  before.  The  period  during  which  Mr.  Weaver 
served  as  an  agent  was  a  peculiarly  trying  one,  as 
will  be  explained,  in  part,  in  the  next  chapter,  and 
the  college  was  very  fortunate  in  having  in  its 

102 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

service  at  tliis  trying  time  a  man  of  suck  skill, 
patience,  and  perseverance,  and  one  who  was  so 
successful  in  securing  the  money  which  the  college 
so  sorely  needed,  Jonathan  Weaver  is  eminently 
worthy  to  go  on  record  as  one  of  the  successful 
pioneers  of  the  educational  work  of  the  Church. 
He  died  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  February  6,  1901,  after 
a  long  and  distinguished  career  as  a  bishop  of  the 
Church. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Resler,  who  began  his  service  for 
Otterbein  University  as  an  agent  in  the  same  year 
as  Eev.  J.  Weaver,  was  born  in  Fayette  County, 
Pa.,  in  1821,  and  became  a  member  of  Allegheny 
Conference,  of  that  State,  in  184:2.  When  Tie  came 
to  Otterbein  University  as  an  agent  he  had  had 
already  a  number  of  years'  experience  in  the 
agency  work,  having  served  as  agent  for  Mt.  Pleas- 
ant College,  Pennsylvania,  which  in  1857,  as 
already  stated,  was  transferred  to  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity. Mr.  Resler  rendered  his  first  service  for 
Otterbein  University  in  the  bounds  of  his  own  con- 
ference, the  Allegheny,  in  soliciting  the  money  to 
pay  the  burdensome  debt  with  which  Mt.  Pleasant 
College  was  encumbered  when  it  was  transferred 
to  Otterbein  University,  and  in  negotiating  the 
sale  of  Mt.  Pleasant  College,  in  both  of  which  he 
was  successful.  Mr.  Resler,  while  not  himself  an 
educated  man,  was  one  of  the  earlier  champions  of 
higher  education  in  the  Church,  both  for  the  min- 
istry and  for  the  laity.  He  was  a  man  of  powerful 
frame,  great  zeal,  good  ability,  and  unflagging  per- 
severance, and  while  his  chief  service  for  Otter- 
bein University  in  the  agency  work  was  at  a  period 

103 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

subsequent  to  the  first  tliirteen  years  of  its  history, 
which  we  have  designated  as  the  pioneer  period, 
yet  his  work  during  this  early  period  was  suffi- 
ciently extensive  and  successful  to  entitle  him  to  a 
high  place  among  the  pioneers  of  the  educational 
work  of  the  Church.  He  died  in  1891,  at  Wester- 
ville,  where  he  is  buried. 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  faithful  and,  on  the 
part  of  a  number,  the  successful  labors  of  these 
agents,  the  work  grew  more  rapidly  than  the 
money  could  be  gathered  to  sustain  it,  and  the 
struggle  occasioned  by  financial  embarrassment 
early  began.  At  a  called  session  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  which  met  in  February,  1850,  the  follow- 
ing resolution  adopted  by  the  board,  reflects  the 
troubled  situation  as  well  as  the  courage  and  deter- 
mination of  the  trustees : 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  our  judgment  that  the 
Otterbein  University  be  sustained  now  and  for- 
ever, and  that  we  will  use  every  honorable  means 
in  connection  with  the  general  agent  tO'  relieve 
the  present  embarrassment,  lift  the  institution 
out  of  debt,  and  then  fit  up  and  improve  the  build- 
ings, so  that  it  may  become  in  time  a  respectable 
college." 

But  six  of  the  nine  trustees  of  the  college  were 
present  at  this  session,  and  after  the  adoption  of 
the  above  resolution  a  proposition,  such  as  was  des- 
tined to  be  repeated  frequently  at  subsequent  meet- 
ings of  the  board,  was  presented.  It  was  to  make 
an  effort  in  open  board  to  raise  contributions  at 
once  to  relieve  the  embaiTassment  of  the  college. 
On  this  occasion  it  resulted  in  pledges  amounting 

104 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

to  two  hundred  dollars,  of  which  sum  sixty  dollars 
were  in  cash. 

Despite  all  efforts,  the  debt  continued  to  in- 
crease from  year  tO'  year.  At  the  same  time  the 
need  of  a  better  and  larger  main  college-building 
was  keenly  felt.  As  early  as  the  session  of  the 
board  in  1853,  the  executive  committee  was 
authorized  to  go  forward  with  the  new  building 
just  as  fast  as  the  funds  could  be  raised  for  its 
erection.  Nothing,  however,  was  done  during  the 
year,  and  the  board  which  met  in  1854  was  still 
discussing  the  location  and  size  of  the  contem- 
plated building.  Meanwhile,  the  need  of  an  addi- 
tional  dormitory  seemed  urgent,  the  original  three- 
story  brick  dormitory  not  being  sufficient  for  both 
sexes.  For  a  time  the  young  ladies  were  provided 
for  in  a  building  rented  for  the  purpose,  while  the 
young  men  occupied  the  brick  dormitory.  Later 
the  yoimg  men  occupied  the  third  story  of  the 
brick  dormitory,  while  the  young  women  occupied 
the  second  story  of  the  same  building.  This  was 
not  a  satisfactory  arrangement,  and  was  never  de- 
signed to  be  permanent  In  January,  1854,  Mr. 
Jacob  Saum,  a  gentleman  in  the  bounds  of  the 
Miami  Conference,  gave  $1,600  to  be  applied  in 
erecting  a  dormitory,  and  by  the  opening  of  the 
college  year,  1855,  Saum  Hall  (now  Science 
Hall),  so  named  in  honor  of  the  chief  contributor, 
was  in  readiness  and  was  assigned  tO'  the  young 
men,  while  the  original  dormitory  was  henceforth, 
until  torn  down  in  1871,  exclusively  occupied  by 
the  young  women.  The  cost  of  Saum  Hall,  includ- 
ing the  lot,  was  $6,000. 

105 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

At  the  meeting  of  the  board  in  June,  1854,  the 
agents  reported  $10,500  in  cash  and  subscriptions 
secured,  and  the  erection  of  the  new  main  building 
was  definitely  determined  upon.  The  debt  at  this 
time  was  reported  as  $2,513.  In  order  to  provide 
the  money  needed  to  erect  the  new  building,  pay 
the  debt,  and  meet  deficits  incurred  in  carrying 
forward  the  work  of  the  college,  it  was  resolved 
that  $40,000  be  secured  for  Otterbein  University, 
pledges  to  be  taken  on  the  condition  that  $40,000, 
inclusive  of  the  $10,500  pledges  now  on  hand,  be 
secured  before  the  pledges  become  due.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  board  in  June,  1855,  the  agents  re- 
ported the  sum  of  $19,148.60  secured  during  the 
year  on  the  $40,000  plan.  This  was  no  great  sum, 
surely,  but  it  was  altogether  the  largest  sum,  up  to 
that  time,  that  had  ever  been  secured  for  any 
enterprise  of  the  Church  in  a  single  year.  Mean- 
while the  new  college-building  was  begun,  and 
proved  a  very  tedious  and  costly  undertaking,  and, 
in  fact,  never  was  completed,  being  still  in  an 
unfinished  condition  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  January,  1870.  At  the  meeting  of  the  board  in 
1856,  the  agents  announced  that  the  sum  of  $40,- 
500  was  secured  on  the  $40,000  plan,  and  the  first 
considerable  financial  undertaking  for  the  college 
was  proclaimed  a  success,  and  naturally  was  hailed 
with  no  little  satisfaction  by  the  Church,  espe- 
cially in  the  bounds  of  the  eight  conferences  at  the 
time  cooperating  with  the  college.  The  announce- 
ment, however,  while  true  in  form,  was  very  mis- 
leading in  fact.  As  the  $40,000  was  not  due  imtil 
the  full  sum  was  pledged,  no  part  of  it  was  avail- 

106 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

able  to  pay  the  expense  of  agencies  while  securing 
the  pledges.  This  expense,  together  with  deficits 
in  carrying  forward  the  regular  work  of  the  col- 
lege, caused  the  debt  to  increase  rapidly  during 
the  very  period  in  wliich  this  $40,000  plan  was 
carried  through  to  success. 

As  already  stated,  the  debt  in  1854,  when  the 
$40,000  plan  was  adopted,  was  $2,513.  In  1855 
it  had  grown  to  $3,Y14,  and  in  June,  1856,  when 
the  success  of  the  $40,000  plan  was  announced,  it 
had  gTown  to  $9,416,  and  it  became  very  plain  to 
the  members  of  the  board  that  the  plan  which,  in 
their  inexperience,  they  had  fondly  hoped  would 
pay  all  the  debt,  as  well  as  pay  for  the  new  college- 
building,  which  was  now  in  process  of  erection, 
would  fail  to  do  so,  and  so  the  board  set  about  de- 
vising a  new  plan  of  relief.  An  endowment  plan, 
as  it  was  called,  by  the  sale  of  scholarships,  was 
submitted  to  the  board  by  the  executive  committee, 
which,  after  consideration  and  amendment,  was 
approved  in  its  general  features  and  referred  back 
to  the  executive  committee  to  perfect  and  publish 
it  in  the  Religious  Telescope.  Two  traveling 
agents  were  elected  by  the  board,  and  the  executive 
committee  was  authorized  to  employ  other  agents, 
if  thought  necessary,  in  the  work  of  selling  schol- 
arships. As  this  so-called  endowment  plan  con- 
nects with  one  of  the  severest  financial  crises 
through  which  the  institution  has  been  called  to 
pass  in  the  past  sixty  years,  a  brief  account  of  it 
is  here  given.  The  plan,  as  it  appeared  in  the 
catalogues  from  1857  to  1860,  provided  for  four 
classes  of  scholarships,  of  which  the  first  was  per- 

107 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

petual  and  the  remaining  three  classes  covered 
periods  of  eighteen,  eight,  and  four  years  respec- 
tively. The  perpetual  scholarships  were  sold  at 
one  hundred  dollars  and  the  other  three  classes 
at  fifty,  thirty,  and  twenty  dollars  respectively. 
These  scholarships  admitted  one  student  at  a 
time  for  the  period  named,  free  of  tuition. 
They  were  called  endowment  scholarships  because 
only  the  interest  on  the  money  realized  from  their 
sale  was  to  be  used  in  carrying  forward  the  work 
of  the  university.  The  plan  provided  for  the  sale 
of  $75,000  worth.  They  were  sold  upon  notes  not 
payable  until  the  sales  reached  $75,000,  when, 
upon  payment  of  the  notes,  the  scholarships  be- 
came available  for  use. 

It  is  not  important  to  criticise  the  plan  further 
than  perhaps  to  say  that  they  were  sold  at  a  ruin- 
ously low  price.  The  theory  was  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  scholarships  would  not  be  used  during 
any  given  year,  while  the  university  would  have 
the  revenue  from  the  full  $75,000  every  year;  but 
as  the  scholarships  were  negotiable,  it  is  plain  that 
the  plan  would  open  the  doors  of  the  university 
to  practically  all  students  free  of  tuition,  while  the 
university  would  have  only  the  income  from  the 
$75,000  to  reimburse  it  for  the  loss  of  tuition, 
probably  between  four  and  five  thousand  dollars 
per  year,  a  sum  entirely  inadequate.  So  it  was 
doubtless  well  for  the  university,  though  it  was 
thought  a  great  calamity  at  the  time,  that  the  plan 
was  wrecked  after  all  the  scholarships  had  been 
sold,  and  that,  except  in  a  small  way,  the  college 
was  never  called  upon  to  meet  the  burden  of  re- 

108 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

sponsibility  the  plan  imposed,  as  will  appear  in  the 
succeeding  chapter.  The  university  found  quite 
burden  enough  in  the  labor  required  and  the  ex- 
pense incurred  in  the  sale  of  the  scholarships.  It 
required  three  years  to  reach  the  $75,000  stipu- 
lated in  the  plan,  and  for  a  portion  of  the  time  as 
many  as  four  agents  were  employed  in  making  the 
sales  and  managing  the  other  finances  of  the  col- 
lege, the  whole  expense  of  which  had  to  be  met 
from  other  sources  than  the  endowment  plan. 
Thus  it  happened  that  the  debt,  which  in  1856 
was  reported  at  $9,416,  in  1857  had  risen  to 
$12,280.97,  and  the  financial  situation  seemed,  at 
least  to  some  of  the  trustees,  to  assume  an  alarm- 
ing aspect.  It  had  become  plain  that  neither  the 
success  of  the  $40,000  plan  nor  the  scholarship 
plan  would  afford  adequate  relief.  So  far  as  the 
sale  of  scholarships  was  concerned,  the  results  of 
the  first  year's  effort  were  thought  quite  satisfac- 
tory. The  agents  in  the  field  made  sales  as  fol- 
lows: Eev.  Peter  Tabler,  $8,370  worth;  Eev. 
Wm.  Hanby,  $8,740  worth;  Rev.  L.  Davis, 
$15,580  worth,  and  Rev.  A.  Winter,  employed  for 
only  part  of  the  year,  $4,570  worth,  making  an 
aggregate  of  $37,160  worth,  or  very  nearly  one- 
half  of  the  entire  $75,000  wwth.  But  already 
nearly  one-half  of  the  $40,000  had  been  collected 
and  used,  and  but  little  more  than  the  foundation 
of  the  new  college-building  had  been  put  in,  and 
yet  the  debt  had  increased  to  $12,280.97.  Some- 
thing more  must  be  done  to  provide  money  for  the 
college  or  failure  was  inevitable.  So  the  board 
decided  to  ask  the  Church  in  the  cooperating  con- 

109 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ferences  for  $60,000  in  donation.  Revs.  Wm. 
Slaughter  and  J.  B.  Resler  were  appointed  agents 
to  prosecute  this  $60,000  plan.  So,  with  the  sale  of 
scholarships  not  yet  half  completed,  the  agents  of 
the  college  found  themselves  burdened  with  the 
additional  labor  of  securing  $60,000  in  donations. 
But  for  the  fact  that  at  this  same  session  of  the 
board  in  1857  action  was  taken  which  resulted  in 
the  transfer  of  Mt.  Pleasant  College,  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  brought  to  the  college  the  cooperation 
and  support  of  five  new  conferences  in  the  East, 
some  of  them  among  the  strongest  and  wealthiest 
in  the  Church,  the  effort  would  indeed  have 
seemed  hopeless.  That  the  board  did  not  feel  hope- 
less is  indicated  by  the  following  resolution, 
adopted  before  adjournment: 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  earnest  purpose  of  this 
board  to  make  Otterbein  University  equal  in  all 
respects,  and,  if  possible,  superior  to  any  other 
similar  institution  in  the  West,  and  that  we  assure 
the  faculty  that  at  the  earliest  day  possible  they 
shall  occupy  a  position  equal  to  those  of  other  in- 
stitutions." 

The  fact,  however,  that  the  agents  had  given 
assurance  in  their  efforts  to  secure  the  $40,000, 
which  was  carried  to  success  in  1856,  that  this 
sum  would  be  sufficient  to  pay  the  debt  of  the  col- 
lege and  erect  the  new  building,  when  so  soon  an 
additional  smn  of  $60,000  was  asked,  excited 
earnest  inquiry  as  to  what  had  become  of  the 
$40,000.  Indeed,  the  agents,  who,  in  their  inexpe- 
rience, had  no  doubt  innocently  given  this  assur- 
ance, found  it  difficult  to  convince  even  some  of  the 

110 


Early  Financial  Struggles 

trustees  tliat  tliere  had  not  been  incompetence  or 
crookedness,  or  both.  To  the  hardships  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  agents,  thankless  and  slavish  at  best, 
was  added  the  cruel  suggestion  that  they  had  been 
unfaithful  in  the  appropriation  of  funds.  In  a 
very  few  instances  agents  had  kept  their  accounts 
in  so  careless  and  bungling  a  manner  that  they 
could  not  vindicate  their  integrity  in  as  clear  a 
manner  as  was  desirable,  but,  with  the  rarest 
exceptions,  the  agents,  when  questioned,  could 
account  satisfactorily  for  every  dollar,  and  in  a 
way  that  put  their  integrity,  if  not  always  their 
business  judgment  and  skill,  beyond  question. 
The  board  at  its  session  in  1857,  in  deciding  to 
appeal  to  the  Church  for  $60,000  more,  deemed  it 
important,  in  order  to  prevent  misapprehensions 
and  answer  inquiries,  that  there  be  given  the  clear- 
est possible  statement  of  the  financial  condition  of 
the  college.  Accordingly,  Rev.  Wm.  Hanby  was 
appointed  to  prepare  such  statement  for  publica- 
tion. This  statement  appears  in  the  catalogue  for 
1857,  giving  an  extended  report  of  all  moneys  re- 
ceived and  expended.  The  statement  answered 
clearly  the  question  as  to  what  had  become  of  the 
$40,000  announced  secured  at  the  board  meeting 
in  1856.  It  disclosed  the  fact  that  nearly  $18,000, 
or  nearly  one-half  of  the  entire  amount,  was  still 
uncollected,  and  that  a  heavy  per  cent,  of  it  prob- 
ably never  could  be  collected.  The  statement  also 
clearly  set  forth  what  had  been  done  with  the 
$22,000  collected.  The  statement  seemed  to  sat^ 
isfy  the  Church  generally,  and  while  it  did  not 
make  the  task  of  the  agents  easy,  it  opened  the  way 

111 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

for  them  and  enabled  them  to  go  forward  in  their 
work  with  some  prospect  of  success.  The  attempt, 
however,  to  carry  forward  the  scholarship  and 
donation  plans  at  the  same  time,  proved  very  bur- 
densome. It  was  a  dark  time  and  a  hard  struggle, 
during  which  sometimes  the  hopes  of  the  stoutest 
hearted  grew  faint.  The  very  desperation  of  the 
situation,  however,  seemed  to  inspire  courage  and 
nerve  to  determination.  At  times  the  pressure  for 
money  was  so  urgent  that  it  was  proposed  to  sus- 
pend the  sale  of  scholarships  and  direct  all  efforts 
to  the  solicitation  of  donations.  At  other  times  it 
was  ordered  that  the  work  on  the  new  college- 
building  be  carried  forward  no  faster  than  money 
could  be  collected  for  this  purpose.  At  still  other 
times  agents  were  dispatched  to  the  East,  if  pos- 
sible to  borrow  the  money  needed  to  meet  the  more 
pressing  obligations  of  the  college.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  by  the  favor  of  a  kind  providence  the 
agents  were  enabled  to  avert  the  threatened  bank- 
ruptcy and  carry  the  college  safely  through  per- 
haps the  darkest  crisis  in  its  history. 


112 


Key.  henry  GARST,  D.  D. 
Connected  with  the  Faculty  of  Otterbein  University  since  1869 


SOLOMON  KEISTER 
A  Stanch  Friend  of  the  College  from  its  Beginning 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Failure    of    the    Manual-Labor    Experiment — Wreck   of    the 
Scholarship  Endowment  Plan. 

No  history  of  Otterbein  University  would  be 
complete  without  some  account  of  the  effort  to  con- 
nect with  it  a  system  of  manual  labor.  The  idea 
of  such  a  system  with  institutions  of  higher  educa- 
tion was  not  original  with  the  founder  of  Otter- 
bein University.  In  the  State  of  !N^ew  York,  the 
Onieda  Institute,  and  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  West- 
ern Reserve  College,  Marietta  College,  Lane  The- 
ological Seminary,  and  Oberlin  College,  all  had 
made  attempts  of  this  kind  before  the  founding  of 
Otterbein  University.  Perhaps  the  most  deter- 
mined effort,  and  in  circumstances  the  most  favor- 
able to  success,  had  been  made  at  Oberlin  College, 
but  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  attempt  had  already 
substantially  failed  at  the  time  the  United  Breth- 
ren fathers  entered  upon  the  educational  work.  It 
may  be  a  matter  of  wonder  to  some  that  an  attempt 
which  had  so  generally  failed  elsewhere  should  be 
made  in  Otterbein  University.  The  explanation 
is  not  far  to  seek.  As  already  stated,  the  members 
of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  at  the  time,  were 
largely  rural  and  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
They  knew  far  more  about  manual  labor  than 
higher  education.  Manual  labor  seemed  to  them 
just  about  the  most  practicable  thing  in  the  world, 
and  in  their  very  limited  knowledge  of  the  condi- 

8  113 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

tions  of  carrying  forward  the  educational  work 
successfullj,  it  is  not  strange  tliat  tliey  failed  to 
appreciate  the  difficulties  of  carrying  forward  the 
two  together.  The  failures  which  had  occurred 
along  this  line  were  not  denied,  but  they  were 
attributed  to  the  disinclination  of  professors  and 
students  to  work,  and  not  to  any  inherent  difficul- 
ties in  the  problem  itself.  They  seemed  to  believe 
that  this  disinclination  to  labor  either  did  not  exist 
among  a  people  trained  tO'  toil  as  were  the  United 
Brethren,  or,  if  it  did  exist,  the  right  thing  to  do 
was  to  antagonize  it  sharply  and  eradicate  it  if 
possible,  and  what  better  place  could  there  be  for 
such  reformatory  work,  they  seemed  to  reason, 
than  in  a  college  ?  From  the  very  beginning,  there- 
fore, there  was  a  pretty  earnest  demand  for  a  sys- 
tem of  manual  labor  in  connection  with  Otterbein 
University.  The  demand  was  urged  mainly  on 
two  grounds,  the  health  of  all  students,  and  as  a 
source  of  revenue  to  poor  students.  On  the  first 
ground  much  was  made  of  the  deleterious  effects  of 
too  intense  and  too  continuous  a  devotion  to  study, 
and  under  the  second  it  was  contended  that,  since 
the  majority  of  the  youth  of  the  Church  were  poor, 
there  was  no  possibility  for  them  to  obtain  a  colle- 
giate education  except  by  offering  them  the  oppor- 
tunity of  earning  by  manual  labor  a  part  or  all  the 
money  needed. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  grounds  for 
manual  labor  might  be  very  plausibly  urged 
without  touching  the  question  of  practicabil- 
ity in  connection  with  a  college,  and  this  was 
largely  done.     If  any  one  had  the  temerity  to  sug- 

114 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

gest  some  of  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered  in 
maintaining  a  system  of  manual  labor  in  a  college, 
he  was  promptly  accused  of  being  hostile  to 
manual  labor  as  such,  an  accusation  which  was  apt 
to  find  rather  ready  acceptance  in  the  Church,  and 
had  a  tendency  to  hush  up  objections,  and  so  the 
advocates  of  a  manual-labor  system,  so  far  as  the 
argiunent  was  concerned,  had  things  very  much 
their  own  way.  When  the  charter  was  procured  in 
1849,  a  matter  which  had  been  delayed  for  two 
years,  because  colleges  were  required  to  be  worth 
at  least  ten  thousand  dollars  in  order  to  procure  a 
charter,  a  clause  was  inserted  authorizing  the  trus- 
tees to  purchase  lands,  mechanical  implements, 
etc.,  wherewith  to  connect  the  manual-labor  system 
with  the  college.  Could  the  strife,  alienation, 
division,  and  loss  to  which  this  popular  and  appar- 
ently harmless  clause  would  afterwards  lead  have 
been  foreseen,  we  may  be  sure  that  it  would  never 
have  been  inserted ;  but  there  it  was  put,  doubt- 
less with  the  sincerest  purposes  and  best  motives. 
From  time  to*  time  references  were  made,  in  the 
Religious  Telescope  and  in  the  sessions  of  the 
board,  to  the  authorized  manual-labor  system,  but 
aside  from  assurances  from  the  agents  and  occa- 
sional resolutions  by  the  board  of  trustees,  little 
was  done  for  a  number  of  years.  In  time  the  ear- 
nest champions  of  a  system  of  manual  labor  in  the 
college  grew  impatient,  and  some  of  the-m  became 
suspicious  that  there  was  no  sincere  purpose  to 
connect  such  a  system  with  the  college,  and  began 
to  press  their  claims  with  great  determination.  At 
the  session  of  the  board  in  June,  1854,  the  subject 

115 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

received  large  attention,  and  as  a  result  the  follow- 
ing action  was  taken : 

"1.  That,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  we 
think  it  best  to  adopt  immediately  an  effective  sys- 
tem of  manual  labor  that  shall  require  the  per- 
formance of  labor  daily  by  all  in  attendance  in  this 
institution;  this  regulation  to  take  effect  as  soon 
as  an  executive  committee,  hereafter  to  be  ap- 
pointed, shall  be  able  to  furnish  employment; 
provided,  however,  that  nothing  in  this  act  shall 
be  so  construed  as  to  prevent  the  executive  com- 
mittee excusing  persons  of  feeble  health,  and  also 
those  whose  stay  may  be  very  temporary,  and  who 
may  therefore  desire  to  study  all  the  time;  also, 
other  cases  not  now  foreseen. 

"2.  That  of  the  funds  received  into  the  treas- 
ury sucli  an  amount  as  may  be  thought  necessary 
be  appropriated  by  the  executive  committee  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  system. 

"3.  That  the  executive  committee  be  author- 
ized to  purchase  a  sufficient  amount  of  real  estate 
and  to  make  such  other  arrangements  as  shall  be 
necessary  to  perfect  the  plans  as  soon  as  the 
finances  will  permit. 

"4.  That  the  resident  agent  shall  take  charge 
of  the  labor  department,  subject  to  the  direction  of 
the  executive  committee." 

In  accordance  with  this  somewhat  carefully- 
guarded  action  of  the  board,  the  executive  com- 
mittee purchased  eighteen  acres  of  land  just 
north  of  Home  Street  and  west  of  Grove  Street, 
which  came  to  be  known  as  the  college  garden. 

116 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

On  this  plat  of  ground  the  students,  for  a  niunber 
of  years,  performed  considerable  labor,  raising  In- 
dian corn,  broom-corn,  graden  vegetables,  and 
later  maintaining  a  nursery  upon  part  of  the 
ground.  For  several  years  this  labor  was  per- 
formed under  the  direction  of  a  manual-labor 
agent.  Rev.  Abram  Winter  and  C.  A.  Redding, 
Esq.,  served  as  such  agents  for  a  time.  The  results 
of  the  effort  carried  forward  in  this  small  way 
were  not  satisfactory.  The  reports  of  the  agents 
constantly  indicated  financial  loss,  which,  in  the 
straitened  condition  of  the  college,  was  a  serious 
matter.  The  champions  of  manual  labor,  however, 
were  very  determined,  and  under  the  leadership  of 
Rev.  John  Lawrence,  editor  of  the  Religious  Tele- 
scope, Rev.  Henry  Kumler,  Jr.,  of  the  Miami 
Conference,  and,  later,  of  Dr.  I.  A.  Coons,  Esq., 
of  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  continuance  of  the  manual- 
labor  experiment  was  insisted  upon.  At  the  ses- 
sion of  the  board  in  1855  it  was  ordered  that  one- 
third  of  the  money  realized  from  the  forty-thou- 
sand-dollar plan,  of  which  some  accoimt  was  given 
in  a  previous  chapter,  should  be  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  manual-labor  department.  In  1856  a 
small  farm  of  fifty-two  acres,  adjoining  Wester- 
ville  on  the  east,  was  purchased  by  the  executive 
committee,  an  act  which  greatly  pleased  the  advo- 
cates of  manual  labor.  At  the  session  of  the  board 
in  1856  the  scholarship-endowment  plan,  pre- 
viously mentioned,  was  adopted,  and  agents  were 
elected  and  sent  into  the  field  to  sell  scholarships. 
Up  to  this  time  every  official  action  relating  to 
manual  labor  was  in  favor  of  connecting  such  a 

117 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

system  with  tlie  college.  It  is  not  strange,  there- 
fore, that  the  agents  in  the  field  selling  scholar- 
ships gave  assurances  that  the  institution  was  to  be 
a  manual-labor  college,  and  as  this  idea  was  very 
popular  in  the  Church,  it  serves,  in  part  at  least, 
to  explain  the  rather  rapid  sale  of  scholarships.  In 
contrast,  however,  with  this  favorable  action  of  the 
board  of  trustees  and  these  confident  assurances  by 
the  agents,  stood  the  fact  that  very  little  was  done 
in  a  practical  way  to  establish  a  system  of  manual 
labor  in  Otterbein  University.  'No  students  were 
required  to  labor.  To  a  limited  extent  students 
who  wished  could,  during  a  portion  of  the  year, 
obtain  work  in  the  college  garden.  The  catalogue 
of  1857,  representing  a  period  when  manual  labor 
was  in  the  best  condition  it  ever  attained  in  the 
college,  has  only  this  tO'  say  on  the  subject:  "The 
college  premises  which  contain  the  buildings  con- 
sist of  nine  acres.  A  little  north  of  this  is  the  col- 
lege garden,  containing  eighteen  acres  in  good 
cultivation,  the  work  being  almost  all  done  by  stu- 
dents. East  of  the  to<wn,  and  easy  of  access,  is  the 
college  farm,  containing  fifty-two  acres,  which  is 
being  brought  under  cultivation  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible. 

"It  is  the  purpose  of  the  nlanagers  of  the  uni- 
versity to  give  the  poor  but  industrious  students 
an  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  thorough  education, 
%\ath  the  least  draft  possible  upon  the  health  and 
purse." 

On  a  subsequent  page  appear  these  words: 
"Arrangements  are  such  that  young  men  who  wish 
can,  without  difficulty,  procure  work,  so  that  by 

118 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

their  labor  they  can  pay  a  considerable  part  of 
their  expenses.  The  recitations  will  b©  so  arranged 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  may  be  de- 
voted to  manual  labor." 

It  is  not  strange  that  this  was  not  satisfactoiy 
to  the  advocates  of  a  manual-labor  system.     What 
they    demanded    was    an    institution    in    which 
manual  labor  should  form  an  essential  and  re- 
quired  part;    in   which   professors    and   students 
should  be  required  to  perform  labor  with  the  same 
regularity  with  which  they  studied  and  attended 
recitations.  The  editor  of  the  Religious^  Telescope, 
John  Lawrence,  would  occasionally  voice  the  dis- 
satisfaction felt  by  the  friends  of  a  manual-labor 
colleo-e,  by  a  serio-comic  criticism  of  what  was 
done'^in  this  line.     Soon  after  the  adjournment  of 
the  board  of  trustees  in  1856,  a  lengthy  article, 
signed   "Miami,"   appeared  in  the  Telescope,  in 
which  the  managers  of  the  college  were  sharply 
attacked  and  severely  criticised  for  what  was  char- 
acterized as  their  bad  faith  in  regard  to  manual 
labor.     When  the  managers  of  the  college  com- 
plained   to    the    editor    for    publishing    such^  an 
article,  he  replied  in  the  following  characteristic 

editorial : 

"We  have  been  slightly  censured  for  the  admis- 
sion of  an  article  on  Otterbein  University  into  the 
Telescope  from  the  pen  of  an  anonymous  corres- 
pondent, who  styles  himself  'Miami.'  By  way  of 
explanation  and  defense,  wo  would  beg  leave  to  say 
that  we  entirely  agree  with  'Miami'  in  the  convic- 
tion that  no  determined  purpose  has  yet  mani- 
fested  itself  on  the  part  of  the  executive  com- 

110 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

mittee  at  Westerville  to  make  that  school  a  man- 
ual-labor school.  It  may  be  that  such  a  determin- 
ation exists,  but  to  our  mind  it  is  as  clear  as  a 
sunbeam  that  a  settled  purpose  exists  to  discard 
it,  and  finally  ignore  the  whole  idea  of  manual 
labor.    In  this  \re  may  be  entirely  mistaken. 

"i^ow,  understand  we  are  heartily  in  favor  of 
making  Otterbein  University  a  first-class  college 
without  the  manual-labor  system  attached,  if  it 
must  be  so.  Our  heart  is  in  that  school.  We  were 
its  ardent  friend  when  it  was  a  pitiful  and  almost 
contemptible  starveling,  and  now  that  it  has 
attained  a  vigorous  youth  and  is  looking  forward 
with  high  hopes  to  a  noble  manhood,  we  have  no 
thought  of  giving  it  tlie  cold  shoulder,  (which  to 
the  school  would  be  a  small  matter,)  even  though 
our  favorite  idea  of  manual  labor  should  be  wholly 
discarded.  Having  said  this  much,  we  invite 
attention  to  Kev.  W.  Slaughter's  reply  to  'Miami' 
on  our  fourth  page." 

The  public  controversy  thus  begun  on  the  sub- 
ject of  manual  labor  in  Otterbein  University  was 
continued  in  the  Religious  Telescope,  and  at  the 
sessions  of  the  conferences  cooperating,  with  vary- 
ing intensity  for  several  years,  greatly  to  the  in- 
jury of  the  college.  The  writer  signing  himself 
"Miami,"  after  several  articles,  discarded  his  pseu- 
donym and  thereafter  signed  his  own  proper  name, 
I.  A.  Coons,  a  physician  of  Dayton,  Ohio.  The 
doctor  was  supported  in  his  arraignment  of  the 
managers  of  the  college  mainly  by  J.  Lawrence 
and  Henry  Kumler,  Jr.  The  defense  was  con- 
ducted chiefly  by  W.  Slaughter,  Wm.  Hanby,  and 

120 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

Jonathan  Weaver,  all  of  whom  announced  them^ 
selves  as  in  favor  of  a  manual-labor  system  in  con- 
nection with  the  college.  In  January,  1857,  when 
the  effort  to  secure  the  $75,000  scholarship  endow- 
ment was  at  its  height.  Editor  Lawrence  demanded 
in  the  Telescope  a  guarantee  that  there  should  be  at 
least  one  professor  of  manual  labor  supported  by 
this  endowment  fund.  The  executive  committee 
promptly  responded  by  announcing  itself  in  favor 
of  such  guarantee,  and  the  board,  which  met  in 
June  following,  pledged  that  there  should  be  a  pro- 
fessor of  manual  labor,  and  the  agents  used  this 
pledge  as  an  inducement  tO'  sell  scholarships.  Such 
demands  for  guarantees  and  pledges  reflected  the 
distrust  felt  by  those  who  made  them,  and  division 
of  opinion  and  controversy  continued.  It  reached 
its  culmination  at  the  meeting  of  the  board  in 
1858.  A  strong  committee,  consisting  of  one  from 
each  of  the  eleven  conferences  represented,  was 
appointed.  The  members  of  the  committee  were 
I.  A.  Coons,  E.  Stutts,  H.  B.  Winton,  Abram 
Miller,  Alex.  Biddle,  W.  S.  Titus,  J.  B.  Eesler, 
J.  Phillip  Bishop,  J.  W.  Perry,  A.  Sherk,  and 
Jonathan  Weaver.  This  committee  failed  to  agree, 
some  insisting  that  manual  labor  should  be  made 
compulsory,  and  others  contending  that  it  should 
be  voluntary.  As  a  result,  both  a  majority  and  a 
minority  report  were  submitted  to  the  board.  The 
majority  report  is  brief,  and  is  as  follows : 

"We,  the  majority  of  your  committee  on  manual 
labor,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report: 
That  the  farm  lying  to  the  east  of  Westerville  and 
the  lot  containing  eighteen  acres,  be  sold  and  the 

121 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

proceeds  be  appropriated  to  the  paying  of  the  in- 
debtedness of  the  college. 

"liespectfullj  submitted, 

"^"^Alex.  Biddle. 

"H.    B.    WiNTON. 

"J.  B.  Resler. 
"J.  Weaver. 
"J.  W.  Perry. 
"J.  P.  Bishop. 
"A.  Miller." 

The  minority  report  is  a  curiosity  in  its  way, 
but  is  too  long  to  be  presented  here.  The  reader 
must  be  content  with  the  argument  of  the  report, 
with  a  few  of  the  fourteen  items  of  which  it  is 
composed,  enough  to  enable  him  to  judge 
whether  its  opponents  were  justified  in  pro- 
nouncing it  visionary  and  impracticable: 

"The  minority  of  your  committee  on  manual 
labor,  report  the  following :  We  believe  that  edu- 
cation is  a  unit,  but  for  illustration  may  be  divided 
into  three  parts,  and  they  are  important  in  the 
order  named — first,  physical ;  second,  moral ;  and, 
third,  intellectual.  The  schools  and  colleges  of  to- 
day seem  to  be  almost  entirely  engrossed  in  the 
mental  interests  and  training  of  the  youth,  while 
they  pay  but  little  attention  to  the  physical  devel- 
opment. In  looking  over  the  past  history  of  this 
school,  we  find  that  in  morals  it  has  met  the  warm- 
est anticipations  of  its  friends,  and  in  intellectual 
culture  it  bears  a  favorable  comparison  with  other 
institutions;  and  while  it  is  true  that  there  has 

122 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

been  something  done  here  in  reference  to  corporal 
labor  and  health,  yet  we  believe  that  the  friends  of 
labor  have  been  greatly  disappointed,  there  seem- 
ing to  be  much  theory,  but  a  lack  of  practice. 
There  is  upon  the  institution's  record  a  by-law  re- 
quiring all  the  students  to  labor,  but  it  is  not 
enforced.  It  is  said  there  is  a  healthy  sentiment 
here  in  favor  of  labor.  There  is  also  a  healthy 
sentiment  in  favor  of  moral  and  mental  training, 
but  these  are  not  left  alone  to  the  caprice  of  senti- 
ment, certain  rules  having  been  adopted  for  their 
regulation  which  must  he  carried  out.  ISTow,  as  we 
most  sincerely  believe  that  physical  education,  or 
the  preservation  of  the  health,  is  the  most  impor- 
tant business  of  life,  and  as  it  is  the  only  founda- 
tion upon  which  we  can  rear  permanently  any 
great  and  good  mental  structure,  we  most  earnestly 
ask  that  it  may  be  equally  and  cordially  supported 
in  this  school  ivith  moral  and  mental  teaching, 
both  by  sentiment  and  law. 

"Muscular  idleness  is  not  only  mental  debility, 
but  sin,  and  as  no  man,  woman,  or  child  can  be 
long  a  successful  scholar,  much  less  a  Christian, 
and  habitually  refuse  to  labor  with  his  hands,  we 
recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolu- 
tions : 

''Resolved,  1,  That  every  student,  male  and 
female,  attending  this  institution  be  required  to 
perform  daily,  five  days  in  the  week,  two  hours  of 
such  labor  as  may  be  directed  by  the  proper  officer 
of  this  school,  unless  prevented  by  sickness. 

"2.  That  the  college  farm,  containing  fifty-two 
acres,  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  invested  in  land  of 

123 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

a  better  quality,  containing  less  moisture,  and 
nearer  the  college,  and  that  thirty-two  acres  of  said 
ground  to  be  divided  into  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  lots,  containing  one-fourth  of  an  acre  each ; 
also,  that  the  college  garden,  containing  eighteen 
acres,  be  divided  into  seventy-two  lots  containing 
one-fourth  of  an  acre  each,  and  that  the  above 
lots  be  sub-soiled  twenty  inches  deep  by  the  male 
students,  this  work  to  be  commenced  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  October,  1858. 

"3.  That  one  lot,  after  sub-soiling,  be  assigned 
to  each  student,  the  females  to  have  theirs  assigned 
them  in  the  college  garden,  and  as  many  lots  as 
there  are  students  be  planted  either  in  goose- 
berries, raspberries,  red  and  white  currants,  straw- 
berries, osier  willows,  and  dwarf  pears ;  the  num- 
ber of  lots  to  be  planted  with  each  of  the  above- 
named  fruits  to  be  determined  by  the  executive 
committee.  Parts  of  as  many  lots  as  there  are  stu- 
dents are  to  be  planted  in  the  spring  of  1859,  and 
continued  yearly  as  directed  by  the  board.  Each 
lot  may  contain  a  few  flowers  and  ornamental 
shrubs. 

"4.  That  the  professors  and  teachers  of  the 
school  labor  two  hours  each  day,  five  days  in  the 
week,  putting  in  their  time  in  the  college  grounds 
so  long  as  needed,  under  the  direction  of  the  agri- 
cultural professor. 


"14.     That  any  student  or  teacher  refusing  to 
comply  with  the  above  rules  shall  be  dealt  with  the 

124 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

same  as  if  violating  other  rules  of  the  institution. 
All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"I.  A.  Coons,  Chairman." 

It  was  agreed  to  consider  the  minority  report 
first,  and  the  battle  was  fought  on  the  first  resolu- 
tion, which  made  performance  of  labor  compul- 
sory for  students,  as  the  fourth  made  it  for  pro- 
fessors and  teachers.  The  friends  of  the  minority 
report  contended  that  no  system  of  labor  could  be 
maintained  unless  all  were  required  to  labor.  The 
opposition  contended  that  this  would  be  to  intro- 
duce a  species  of  slavery  into  the  college,  and  that 
it  could  not  be  enforced.  After  heated  debate, 
lasting  an  entire  day  and  until  late  at  night  in  an 
evening  session,  the  first  resolution  was  defeated 
by  a  yea  and  nay  vote  of  nine  to  ten.  The  support- 
ers of  the  minority  report  then  lost  interest  in  the 
remainder  of  the  report,  and  a  motion  to  indefinite- 
ly postpone  was  promptly  made  and  carried,  and 
the  board  then  adjourned  for  the  day.  Before  final 
adjournment  the  board  voted  to  establish  a  dhair  of 
natural  science  and  scientific  agriculture  and  hor- 
ticulture, and  elected  Thomas  McFadden,  M.  D., 
to  this  chair.  The  board  also  instructed  the  execu- 
tive committee  to  sell  the  college  farm  and  devote 
the  proceeds  to  the  support  of  the  manual-labor  de- 
partment. This  course  did  not  conciliate  the 
advocates  of  a  compulsory  system,  as  was  hoped. 
Editor  Lawrence,  in  an  editorial  in  the  Telescope, 
proclaimed  the  abandonment  of  the  manual-labor 
system,  and  Henry  Kumler,  Jr.,  in  a  communica- 
tion, sharply  criticised  the  board  for  its  course. 

125 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

This  provoked  replies,  and  the  battle  was  fought 
over  again  in  the  Telescope^  and  at  the  sessions  of 
the  annual  conferences,  alienating  and  dividing 
the  friends  of  the  university. 

At  tJie  session  of  the  board  in  1859,  the  advo- 
cates of  a  compulsory  system  made  their  last  de-- 
termined  effort  by  submitting  to  the  board  an 
alternative  proposition  either  to  adopt  a  thorough- 
going system  of  compulsory  labor,  or,  in  view  of 
the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  school  and  the 
difficulties  attending  any  system  of  labor,  to  dis- 
connect it  entirely  from  the  institution.  The 
board  refused  to  do  either,  but  left  matters  as  it 
had  fixed  them  at  the  previous  session  of  the  board, 
and  after  perhaps  the  stormiest  session  in  the  past 
sixty  years,  finally  adjourned  at  twenty  minutes 
before  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  June  24,  1859. 
The  course  of  the  board  was  again  made  the  sub- 
ject of  attack  and  sharp  criticism,  and  the  man- 
agers were  accused  of  swindling  in  securing 
$40,000  of  donations  and  in  selling  $75,000  worth 
of  scholarship  endowment  upon  the  assurance  that 
there  should  be  a  manual-labor  system  connected 
with  the  institution. 

It  so  happened  that  the  board  of  1859,  whose 
attitude  on  the  manual-labor  system  was  thus 
assailed,  was  the  board  at  whose  sessions  the  suc- 
cess of  the  scholarship  endowment  was  announced, 
over  $76,000  worth  of  scholarships  having  been 
sold  after  three  years  of  labor  and  an  outlay  of 
probably  $8,000.  The  scholarships  were  sold  upon 
the  condition  that  they  were  not  to  be  paid  for 
until  the  amount  sold  should  reach  $75,000.     The 

126 


Experiments  Made  and  Failures 

immediate  task  before  the  agents  of  the  college, 
therefore,  was  tO'  deliver  to  purchasers  scholarship 
certificates  and  secure  payment,  either  in  cash  or 
well-secured  notes.  It  was  in  connection  with  this 
task  that  the  dissatisfaction  and  distrust  excited 
by  the  controversy  about  the  manual-labor  system 
was  brought  to  bear  against  the  college.  Many 
who  had  purchased  scholarships  refused  to  accept 
certificates  or  make  payment  for  them,  claiming 
that  the  condition  upon  which  they  purchased 
them,  that  the  institution  should  be  a  manual-labor 
college,  was  not  met.  In  some  places  the  pur- 
chasers held  meetings  and  resolved  to  stand  to- 
gether in  resisting  payment.  So,  after  a  year's 
costly  effort  to  conciliate  purchasers  and  secure 
payment  for  scholarships,  so  many  refused  that  it 
seriously  impaired  the  $75,000  basis,  which  was 
the  least  that  was  thought  to  be  safe  and  practi- 
cable for  the  college;  and  at  the  session  of  the 
board  in  1860  the  entire  abandonment  of  the  schol- 
arship endowment  was  seriously  discussed,  and  the 
agents  were  directed  to  propose  to  all  refusing  to 
pay  for  scholarships  to  settle  b}^  accepting,  in- 
stead, a  donation  of  the  whole  or  the  half  of  the 
price  of  the  scholarships.  In  this  way  enough 
money  was  realized  to  indemnify  the  college,  at 
least  in  part,  for  its  hea^^  outlay  in  selling  scholar- 
ships, but  the  college  was  left  without  endowment, 
and  it  is  a  marvel  it  was  not  financially  ruined. 
Before  these  scholarships  were  adjusted,  the  col- 
lege was  glad  to  surrender  the  notes  taken  without 
consideration,  and  even,  in  some  cases,  purchased 
back  scholarships  which  had  been  paid  for,  to  pro- 

127 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

tect  itself  against  their  use.  A  few  are  still  in  ex- 
istence and  the  college  has  never  refused  to  honor 
them,  though  to  do  so  has  always  been  a  hardship, 
relieved  somewhat  by  raising  the  incidental  por- 
tion of  the  fees  of  the  college  to  a  disproportionate 
figure.  The  manual-labor  system,  which  maybe 
credited  with  having  dragged  this  scholarship  en- 
dowment to  ruin,  itself  failed  and  with  the  board 
which  met  in  1861  ceased  to  be  a  source  of  irri- 
tation and  controversy  or  to  receive  further  con- 
sideration. 

It  will  be  a  pleasant  relief  to  the  reader,  after 
this  account  of  a  very  troubled  period  of  strife, 
struggle,  and  storm  in  the  financial  management 
and  fortune  of  Otterbein  University,  to  be  in- 
formed that  in  its  internal  condition  and  educa- 
tional work  proper  the  institution,  during  this 
same  period  was  really  prospering  and  growing 
rapidly.  In  attendance  tlie  university  advanced 
from  124  in  1855  to  250  in  1858,  or  nearly 
doubled  in  three  years,  accounted  for  in  part  but 
not  wholly  by  the  accession  of  students  from  Mt. 
Pleasant  College,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  increase 
of  cooperating  territory  in  1857,  noted  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter. 


128 


JOHN   E.  GUITNER 

Professor  of  Greek  for  Tbirty-one  Years  and  Meiuber  of  the 
Faculty  for  Thirty-eight  Years 


Mrs.  CAROLINE  MERCHANT 
Of  the  Merchant  Chair  of  Physics  and  Chemistry 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Otterbein  University — Slavery^ — The  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

In  1847,  when  Otterbein  University  was 
founded,  slavery  in  all  its  strength  still  existed  in 
the  Southern  States  of  the  Union.  Among  the 
early  organizations  to  array  themselves  against 
this  so-called  domestic  institution,  was  the  Church 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ.  The  General 
Conference  of  1821,  more  than  forty  years  before 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  twenty-six  years  be- 
fore the  founding  of  Otterbein  University,  took 
very  emphatic  action  against  slavery.  A  some- 
what literal  translation  of  the  German,  in  which 
the  action  of  this  early  conference  is  recorded,  is 
as  follows : 

''Resolved,  That  all  slavery,  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  be  totally  prohibited  and  in  no  way  tol- 
erated in  our  Church.  Should  some  be  found 
therein,  or  others  apply  to  be  admitted  as  mem- 
bers, who  hold  slaves,  they  can  neither  remain 
members  nor  be  received  as  such,  unless  they  set 
free  such  slaves,  where  the  laws  of  the  State  allow 
it,  or  leave  it  to  the  quarterly  conference  to  decide* 
how  long  such  slaves  shall  serve  their  master  or  an- 
other until  the  master  may  realize  the  cost  of  pur- 
chase or  of  rearing.  But  in  no  case  is  it  allowed  a 
member  of  our  Church  to  sell  a  slave. 

9  129 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

"Resolved,  That  if  any  member  of  the  Church 
shall  openly  transgress,  he  shall  be  publicly  repri- 
manded, and  if  he  does  not  humble  himself,  he 
shall  be  publicly  expelled  from  the  Church." 

When  it  is  remembered  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  members  of  the  Church  at  this  early  date 
were  citizens  of  the  slave  States  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  this  radical  action  is  a  little  remark- 
able, but  accounts  for  the  fact  that  when  the 
Church  founded  its  first  college  it  became  at  once 
a  center  of  anti-slavery  sentiment  and  agitation. 
At  the  time  the  college  was  founded  the  great 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  already  been  rent 
asunder  by  division  of  opinion  upon  the  question 
of  slavery,  and  other  churches  were  much  dis- 
tracted by  differences  of  opinion  and  angry  con- 
troversies upon  this  burning  question;  but  the 
United  Brethren  Church  has  always  been  so  over- 
whelmingly anti-slavery  in  sentiment  and  practice 
that  she  has  had  little  trouble  and  no  division  on 
account  of  slavery.  That  such  a  Church  when  it 
came  to  found  Otterbein  University  should  throw 
open  its  doors  to  black  and  white  alike  is  just  what 
we  should  expect  and  just  what  was  done. 

Oberlin  is  the  only  college  which  preceded  Otter- 
bein University  in  receiving  persons  of  color  as  stu- 
dents, and  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  struggle 
which  such  admission  cost  at  Oberlin  and  the  mat- 
ter-of-course way  in  which  it  was  done  at  Otter- 
bein University.  The  question  was  thrust  upon 
the  attention  of  the  managers  of  Oberlin  College 
by  the  revolt  of  the  students  of  Lane  Seminary,  an 
institution  located  at  Walnut  Hills  near  Cincin- 

130 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

nati,  Ohio.  This  revolt  was  produced  by  the  trus- 
tees of  Lane  Seminary  during  the  vacation  in 
1834,  forbidding  the  students  to  discuss  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery.  There  had  been  a  very  earnest 
discussion  of  the  question  during  the  year  preced- 
ing ;  at  one  time  there  was  a  continuous  discussion 
during  eighteen  successive  evenings  in  the  chapel 
of  the  seminary,  which  resulted  in  the  stu- 
dents taking  a  firm  stand  quite  unanimously 
against  slavery.  Since  Lane  Seminary  was  situ- 
ated on  the  border  of  the  slave  State  of  Kentucky, 
the  debate  of  its  students  upon  this  question  pro- 
duced great  excitement,  which  alarmed  the  trus- 
tees, and  a  meeting  of  the  board  was  called,  which 
took  action  to  prohibit  all  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion. The  board  also  notified  Professor  John 
Morgan,  who  was  spending  his  vacation  in  the 
East  and  who  had  manifested  his  sympathy  with 
the  students  in  their  discussions  and  conclusions 
upon  the  question,  that  his  services  were  no  longer 
required.  Instead  of  allaying  excitement,  this 
action  tended  to  intensify  it.  When  the  students 
returned  and  learned  of  the  action  of  the  trustees, 
fully  three-fourths  of  them  asked  for  letters  of 
honorable  dismissal  and  severed  their  connection 
with  the  institution.  For  a  time  they  occupied  a 
building  tendered  them  by  Mr.  James  Ludlow, 
near  Cincinnati,  and  prosecuted  their  studies  as 
best  they  could  for  about  six  months.  Meanwhile 
Doctor  Baily,  who  afterwards  had  his  press  thrown 
into  the  Ohio  River  by  a  pro-slavery  mob,  and  sub- 
sequently published  in  Washington  City  the  'Na- 
tional  Era,   an  able  and  influential  anti-slavery 

131 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

paper,  in  the  columns  of  which  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe's  wonderful  story,  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin," 
first  appeared  as  a  serial,  delivered  to  them  a 
course  of  lectures  on  physiology.  Arthur  Tappan, 
a  wealthy  merchant  of  l^ew  York  City  and  a  pa- 
rishioner of  Rev.  Charles  G.  Finney,  learning  of 
the  action  of  these  students,  sent  them  an  offer  of 
five  thousand  dollars  and  promised  to  endow  a  pro- 
fessorship if  they  would  establish  an  institution 
under  anti-slavery  auspices.  It  was  at  this  junc- 
ture in  the  month  of  December,  1834,  that  Rev. 
J.  J.  Shipherd,  who  shares  with  Rev.  Philo  P. 
Stewart  the  honor  of  founding  Oberlin  College, 
found  his  way  to  Cincinnati,  working  in  the  inter- 
est of  Oberlin  College,  established  a  few  years  be- 
fore, and  learned  for  the  first  time  of  the  revolt 
of  the  Lane  Seminary  students.  He  also  here  be- 
came acquainted  with  Rev.  Asa  Mahan,  a  trustee 
of  Lane  Seminary,  who  had  opposed  the  action  of 
the  board  which  led  to  the  revolt  of  the  students. 
Rev.  Mr.  Shipherd  regarded  his  visit  to  Cincin- 
nati providential  and  speedily  conceived  the  idea 
of  securing  the  revolting  students  as  an  accession 
to  Oberlin  College.  Further,  he  resolved,  if  pos- 
sible, to  secure  Rev.  Asa  Mahan,  Prof.  John  Mor- 
gan, and  Rev.  Charles  G.  Finney  as  members  of 
the  Oberlin  College  faculty,  all  of  which  was  sub- 
sequently accomplished.  Mr.  Shipherd  wrote  to 
the  board  of  trustees  of  Oberlin,  informing  them 
of  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Cincinnati  and  urg- 
ing them  to  take  action  to  receive  students  without 
respect  to  color.  When  the  proposed  action  be- 
came known  it  produced  great  excitement  in  Ober- 

132 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

lin.  Some  young  ladies  declared  that  if  colored 
students  were  admitted  they  would  leave  the  col- 
lege and  return  to  their  homes  even  if  they  had  to 
"wade  Lake  Erie"  to  accomplish  it.  So  great  was 
the  excitement  that  the  board  of  trustees  deemed 
it  best  to  hold  the  meeting  for  the  consideration 
of  the  question  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Elyria, 
where  they  met  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1835. 
After  an  earnest  and  protracted  discussion  the  fol- 
lowing cautious  and  non-committal  action  was 
taken : 

"Whereas,  Information  has  been  received 
from  Rev.  J.  J.  Shipherd  expressing  a  wish  that 
students  may  be  received  into  this  institution  irre- 
spective of  color,  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  this  board  do  not  feel  prepared, 
till  they  have  more  definite  information  on  the 
subject,  to  give  a  pledge  of  the  course  they  will 
pursue  in  regard  to  the  education  of  the  people  of 
color,  vtdshing  that  the  institution  should  be  on 
the  same  ground,  in  respect  to  the  admission  of 
students,  with  other  similar  institutions  of  our 
land." 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  board  did  not 
take  the  action  asked  by  Rev.  J.  J.  Shipherd  in 
regard  to  admitting  persons  of  color.  It  did,  how- 
ever, comply  with  his  wishes  in  electing  Rev.  Asa 
Mahan  president  and  Rev.  John  Morgan  a  profes- 
sor of  the  college. 

Meanwhile,  Rev.  J.  J.  Shipherd  had  gone  to 
ITew  York  City  to  prosecute  his  labors  in  behalf  of 
Oberlin  College  and  there  he  first  learned  that  the 
board  had  failed  to  open  the  doors  of  the  college 

133 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

to  students  irrespective  of  color.  It  greatly  grieved 
and  disappointed  him,  and  he  wrote  a  long  and 
earnest  letter  to  the  board,  in  which  he  urged  by 
twenty  different  arguments  that  the  board  should 
reconvene  and  take  the  action  asked.  The  board 
met  again  on  the  ninth  of  February,  1835,  this 
time  in  Oberlin,  at  the  home  of  Rev.  John  Keep, 
the  president  of  the  board.  At  this  session  the 
question  was  again  earnestly  discussed  and  a  pro- 
nounced difference  of  opinion  manifested  itself. 
Mrs.  Keep  was  engaged  in  her  domestic  duties  in 
an  adjoining  room  with  a  door  ajar  between,  and 
became  very  much  interested  in  the  animated  dis- 
cussion she  heard  going  on.  Mr.  Keep  at  length 
became  fearful  that  the  proposition  would  be  de- 
feated and,  stepping  to  the  door,  quietly  informed 
his  wife  of  his  apprehensions.  She  immediately 
left  her  domestic  duties  and  hastily  summoned 
a  number  of  the  women  of  the  neighborhood  to 
a  prayer-meeting  in  which  they  earnestly  besought 
God  to  guide  the  board  to  a  righteous  decision.  At 
last  the  debate  ceased  and  the  question  was  put  to 
a  vote,  when  the  board  was  found  a  tie.  This  threw 
the  responsibility  of  the  decision  of  the  momentous 
question  upon  the  chairman.  Mr.  Keep  proved 
equal  to  the  occasion  and  promptly  gave  his  vote 
in  the  affirmative,  and  thus  Oberlin  College  by  a 
very  narrow  margin  was  thrown  open  for  the  re- 
ception of  students  irrespective  of  color,  and  the 
institution  was  put  in  position  to  lead  and  aid 
in  the  great  struggle  against  slavery  then  rapidly 
coming  on,  and  which  later  resulted  in  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion  and  in  the  utter  overthrow  of  the 

134 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

institution  of  slavery  in  the  United  States.  The 
action  was  not  in  the  simple,  direct,  and  courage- 
ous form  proposed  bj  Mr.  Shipherd,  but  as  fol- 
lows: 

'Whereas,  There  does  exist  in  our  country 
an  excitement  in  respect  to  our  colored  popula- 
tion, and  fears  are  entertained  that  on  the  one 
hand  they  will  be  left  unprovided  for  as  to  the 
means  of  a  proper  education,  and  on  the  other 
that  they  will,  in  unsuitable  numbers,  be  intro- 
duced into  our  schools,  and  thus  in  effect  forced 
into  the  society  of  the  whites,  and  the  state  of  pub- 
lic sentiment  is  such  as  to  require  from  the  board 
some  definite  expression  on  the  subject,  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  education  of  the  people  of 
color  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  and  should  be  en- 
couraged and  sustained  in  this  institution." 

This  somewhat  ambiguous  action  could  hardly 
be  regarded  as  a  hearty  invitation  to  persons  of 
color  to  enter  Oberlin  College  as  students,  and  yet 
it  contrasted  sharply  with  the  spirit  of  exclusion 
which  prevailed  in  institutions  of  learning  every- 
where else.  The  rapid  progress  of  events,  how- 
ever, speedily  relieved  the  action  of  the  board  of 
all  ambiguity  and  brightened  it  into  a  distinct  and 
positive  policy  of  admission  irrespective  of  color. 
This  was  in  1835,  twelve  years  before  Otterbein 
University  was  founded. 

During  these  twelve  intervening  years  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  made  very  substantial  progress 
in  the  l^orth  and  the  Church  of  the  United  Breth- 
ren in  Christ  held  a  place  in  the  front  ranks  of 
this  advancing  reform.     When  Otterbein  Univer- 

135 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

sity  was  founded  in  1847,  tke  doors  of  almost  every 
college  in  tlie  land  were  still  firmly  barred  against 
students  of  color,  but  in  Otterbein  University  the 
question  was  not  even  so  much  as  raised,  but  it 
was  taken  for  granted  that  the  institution  would 
be  open  impartially  to  whites  and  blacks.  There 
was  no  such  dread  lest  the  college  should  be 
thronged  unduly  with  colored  students,  as  at  first 
prevailed  at  Oberlin.  At  the  latter  institution  this 
dread  was  voiced  by  a  little  boy,  a  son  of  a  trus- 
tee, who,  when  at  last  a  solitary  colored  youth  was 
seen  entering  the  town,  ran  into  the  house  and 
called  out,  "They're  coming,  father,  they're  com- 
ing !"  Instead,  in  Otterbein  University,  there  was 
anxiety  because  colored  students  were  so  slow  in 
coming.  The  board  of  trustees  at  its  session  in 
1854,  actually  passed  a  resolution  instructing  the 
agents  and  trustees  to  "secure  some  colored  stu- 
dents to  be  educated  in  this  college."  When  col- 
ored youth  came  they  were  hailed  with  gladness 
and  cordially  welcomed  by  the  authorities  of  the 
college.  A  little  temporary  flurry  of  opposition  on 
the  part  of  a  few  white  students  and  a  letter  to  the 
board  by  a  prominent  and  liberal  friend  of  the 
college,  criticising  the  authorities  for  receiving 
colored  students  was  the  sum  total  of  the  opposi- 
tion which  manifested  itself. 

The  attendance  of  colored  students  has  al- 
ways been  very  small,  and  much  of  the  time 
there  has  been  none  in  attendance.  A  few 
from  resident  families  and  a  few  from  Africa, 
brought  to  this  country  by  missionaries,  have  con- 
stituted the  colored  contingent  of  students.     The 

136 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

founding  of  Wilberforce  University  at  Yellow 
Springs,  in  Green  County  of  this  State,  an  insti- 
tution designed  expressly  for  the  education  of  col- 
ored youth,  seemed  to  provide  adequate  facilities 
for  those  who  aspired  to  obtain  an  education,  and 
to  this  most  preferred  to  go.  Such  as  came  to 
Otterbein,  however,  have  always  been  received 
upon  their  merits  and  courteously  treated  and  ad- 
mitted upon  terms  of  equality  in  the  class-room,  in 
the  literary  societies,  and  in  the  Church.  The  ad- 
vanced position  of  the  college  in  throwing  open  its 
doors  to  students  of  color  for  a  time  led  to  opposi- 
tion and  some  persecution  abroad.  A  student  of 
the  college  who  had  gone  out  to  teach  in  the  winter 
of  1853-54,  on  stating,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry, 
that  he  came  from  Otterbein  University,  elicited 
the  exclamation,  "Oh,  that  is  the  college  where 
every  student  is  obliged  to  sign  a  paper  agreeing  to 
accept  a  colored  student  as  a  roommate  and  sleep- 
ing companion !"  When  informed  that  there  was 
no  truth  in  this  statement,  the  author  of  the  excla- 
mation seemed  to  hesitate  to  accept  the  correction. 
The  position  of  the  college  with  its  doors  always 
open  to  students  irrespective  of  color,  rendered  the 
institution  a  strong  anti-slavery  center,  and  the 
place  was  visited  during  the  days  of  slavery,  be- 
fore and  during  the  war,  by  many  of  the  leading 
anti-slavery  champions  of  the  country  who  were 
here  sure  of  an  appreciative  and  sympathetic  audi- 
ence while  they  depicted  the  evils  of  slavery. 
Among  the  champions  whose  voices  were  heard 
in  Westerville  in  ante-bellum  days  may  be  named 
Salmon    P.    Chase,    Benjamin   Wade,    Frederick 

137 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Douglas,  Wendell  Phillips,  Samuel  Galloway,  and 
many  others.  When  John  C.  Fremont  was  nomi- 
nated for  the  Presidency  in  1856,  as  the  represent- 
ative of  the  rapidly-growing  host  of  those  who 
were  determined  to  resist  the  aggressions  of  the 
slave  power,  he  found  here  many  ardent  support- 
ers. On  one  occasion  during  the  campaign,  a 
prayer-meeting  was  proposed  to  ask  God  for  guid- 
ance and  help.  A  question  was  raised  as  to 
whether  the  prayers  should  be  impersonal,  or 
whether  it  would  be  proper  to  pray  for  the  election 
of  John  C.  Fremont  by  name.  On  this  question 
Kev.  John  C  Bright,  an  intense  anti-slavery  man 
and  one  of  the  pioneer  workers  for  Otterbein 
University,  declared  that  he  wanted  John  C.  Fre- 
mont elected  and  he  proposed  to  tell  the  Lord  so 
plainly  by  praying  for  the  election  of  Fremont  by 
name,  and  thus  he  did  pray. 

Westerville  also  became  known  as  a  station  on 
what  was  called  the  "Underground  Railroad."  By 
tiiis  was  meant  a  place  where  fugitive  slaves  who 
had  escaped  from  their  masters  in  the  South  could 
depend  upon  succor  and  help  in  their  attempt  to 
reach  Canada,  so  as  to  be  beyond  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  which  provided  the 
means  for  their  capture  and  return  to  their  mas- 
ters. The  home  of  Rev.  L.  Davis,  the  president 
of  the  college,  was  the  one  usually  sought  out  by 
these  flying  fugitives,  and  they  never  failed  of  a 
kindly  welcome  and  aid  in  their  flight  for  freedom. 
The  author,  having  been  an  inmate  of  the  Davis 
home  during  the  four  years  immediately  preceding 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  had  a  good  opportunity 

138 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

to  observe  the  business  transacted  in  the  Under- 
ground Railroad.  Of  the  passengers  who  passed 
this  station  he  distinctly  remembers  a  bright  mu- 
latto, who  stated  that  he  was  a  house-servant  and 
had  escaped  from  his  master  in  Kentucky.  He  was 
in  a  state  of  great  alarm,  declaring  that  he  had  seen 
a  handbill  posted  near  Westerville  giving  a  de- 
scription of  him  and  offering  a  reward  of  five 
hundred  dollars  for  his  capture  and  return  to  his 
master.  He  was  quite  above  the  average  in  intel- 
ligence and  could  read  well,  as  was  not  uncommon 
in  the  case  of  lio-use-servants.  He  was  weary  and 
hungry  and  yet  it  was  not  thought  prudent  for  him 
to  tarry  long  on  account  of  the  danger  of  capture. 
He  tarried  until  dinner  was  prepared  and  then 
he  sat  down  to  eat,  trembling  from  head  to  foot. 
The  tremulous  clatter  of  his  knife  and  fork  upon 
the  plate  before  him,  occasioned  by  his  fright^ 
can  never  be  forgotten.  After  partaking  of  his 
hasty  meal  and  receiving  other  aid,  he  was  directed 
to  a  "station"  beyond  Westerville  in  the  country, 
thought  to  be  a  safer  place  to  tarry  and  rest,  and 
he  hastened  on  his  way.  Whether  he  succeeded 
in  eluding  his  pursuers  and  reached  Canada  and 
freedom  is  not  known. 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency  in  I860,  he  had  many  sincere  and 
earnest  supporters  in  Westerville  and  in  Otterbein 
University.  When  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  broke 
out  in  1861,  the  martial  spirit  manifested  itself  in 
a  very  emphatic  way  in  town  and  college.  But 
three  small  classes  had  at  that  time  graduated  from 
the  college — in  only  two  of  which  were  there  gen- 

139 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

tlemen.  It  was  not  possible,  therefore,  for  the  col- 
lege to  have  much  representation  in  the  Union 
armies  from  the  ranks  of  her  graduates.  From  the 
the  ranks,  however,  of  the  undergraduate  students 
so  many  "went  forth  as  greatly  to  deplete  the  classes 
and  seriously  cut  do^vn  the  aggregate  attendance 
of  students.  The  smallest  classes,  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  first,  went  out  during  and  imme- 
diately after  the  war.  It  was  during  this  period, 
also,  that  the  only  class,  besides  the  first,  that  had 
no  gentlemen  in  it  went  forth. 

Commissioner  of  Soldiers'  Claims  W.  L.  Curry, 
of  Columbus,  Ohio,  who  himself  was  a  student  in 
the  university,  has  gathered  the  names  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  students  of  the  university 
who  served  in  the  Union  army.  Of  these 
there  were  more  than  a  score  of  graduates,  though 
a  number  of  these  graduates  completed  their 
courses  after  the  war.  These  students  were  all 
quite  youthful,  which  will  account  for  the  fact 
that  none  of  them  reached  high  rank  in  the  army. 
There  were  a  number  of  lieutenants  and  captains, 
but  the  large  majority  of  them  were  simply  pri- 
vates in  the  armies  East  and  West,  who  bore  an 
honorable  part  in  many  of  the  great  battles  of  the 
Avar.  Among  these  soldier-graduates  and  students 
who  since  have  become  widely  known  in  the 
Church,  may  be  named  Prof.  George  A.  Funk- 
houser  and  Professor  J.  P.  Landis  of  the  Union 
Biblical  Seminary,  S.  M.  Hippard,  Rev.  D.  Eberly, 
Rev.  I.  L.  Kephart,  George  H.  Bonebrake,  A.  B. 
Kohr,  Jacob  Burgner,  S.  E.  Kumler,  and  others. 
Among  those  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  conflict 

140 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

may  be  named  A.  W.  Stonestreet,  H.  C.  Pohlman, 
J.  M.  Kiimler,  Jas.  M.  Clements,  and  George  W. 
Schrock. 

So     far     as     the     conflict    of     arms     is     con- 
cerned, while  Otterbein  University  did  not  bear 
so  conspicuous  a  part  as  some  older  and  larger  col- 
leges, yet,  when  the  newness  of  the  university  and 
the  number  of  students  are  considered,  it  had  a 
surprisingly  large  number  in  the  army  who  bore 
an  honorable  part  in  the  great  conflict,  and  the 
institution  will  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  the 
oldest  and  strongest  colleges  in  the  land.     So  far 
as  the  conflict  of  ideas  which  led  up  to  the  war, 
and  which  during  its  progress  led  to  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  followed  by  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Union  upon  the  basis  of  impartial  and  universal 
freedom,  is  concerned,  Otterbein  University  is  one 
of  the  very  few  institutions  which  may  justly  be 
classed  among  the  leaders  in  the  conflict.    In  1856, 
there  was  a  song  written  by  a  student  in  Otterbein 
University,    which   well   expresses   the   sentiment 
against    slavery    and    in   favor   of    freedom    and 
human  rights,  which  held  sway  in  the  university 
in  the  years  before  the  war.     The  song  was  "Dar- 
ling jS'elly  Gray,"  and  the  student  who  wrote  it 
was  Benjamin  E.  Hanby,  a  member  of  the  sopho- 
more class.     The  song  struck  a  popular  cord  and 
quickly  gained  very  wide  popularity,  even  being 
sung  in  lands  beyond  the  sea.     It  was  dedicated 
to  Miss  Cornelia  Walker,  at  the  time  the  teacher 
of  music  in  the  university,  a  daughter  of  Pro- 
fessor Ralph  M.  Walker,  of  whose  service  in  the 
university  an  account  is  given  in  a  previous  chap- 

141 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ter,  Mr.  Charles  B.  Galbreath,  in  the  Ohio  Mag- 
azine for  August,  1906,  gives  the  following  esti- 
mate of  the  song : 

"What  is  said  of  Foster's  songs  is  true  of  Han- 
by's  first  successful  composition,  'There  is  mean- 
ing in  the  words  and  beauty  in  the  air.'  Indeed, 
we  may  go  further  and  aver  that  the  author  of  'Old 
Folks  at  Home,'  first  though  he  be  among  the 
writers  of  Southern  melodies,  never  wrote  verses 
more  sweetly  simple,  more  beautifully  and  touch- 
ingly  suggestive,  more  sadly  pathetic  than  'Dar- 
ling Nelly  Gray,'  Perfect  in  rhyme  and  almost 
faultless  in  rhythm,  the  words  flow  on,  bearing 
their  message  directly  to  the  heart*  The  tragic 
climax  is  delicately  veiled  behind  the  picture  of  the 
bondman  pouring  forth  his  sorrow  for  his  lost 
lady  love.  Her  vain  appeal  to  the  slave- 
driver  ;  the  insult  of  the  heartless,  new  master ;  the 
burdens  of  the  cotton  and  the  cane  fields ;  her  com- 
fortless grief,  wild  despair,  and  pitiful  decline  to 
the  merciful  release  of  death — these  were  too 
awful  tO'  find  expression  in  song.  We  are  spared 
the  heartrending  reality ;  even  the  pain  from  what 
we  see  is  relieved  by  the  vision  of  a  happy  reunion. 
Darling  l^elly  Gray  goes  to  her  cruel  fate — meets 
her  lover  in  heaven." 

Here  is  the  song  as  it  is  given  in  the  same  mag- 
azine: 

Darling  Nelly  Gray. 

There  's  a  low  green  valley  on  the  old  Kentucky  shore, 
Where  I  've  whiled  many  happy  hours  away, 

A-sitting  and  a-singing  by  the  little  cottage  door, 
Where  lived  my  darling  Nelly  Gray. 

142 


Experience  with  Slavery  and  the  Civil  War 

Chorus. 

Oh!  my  poor  Nelly  Gray,  they  have  taken  you  away, 
And  I  '11  never  see  my  darling  any  more; 

I  am  sitting  by  the  river  and  I  'm  weeping  all  the  day, 
For  you  've  gone  from  the  old  Kentucky  shore. 

When  the  moon  had  climbed  the  mountain  and  the 
stars  were  shining,  too, 

Then  I  'd  take  my  darling  Nelly  Gray, 
And  we  'd  float  down  the  river  in  my  little  red  canoe. 

While  my  banjo  sweetly  I  would  play. 

One  night  I  went  to  see  her,  but  "She  's  gone!"  the 
neighbors  say. 
The  white  man  bound  her  with  his  chain; 
They  have  taken  her  to  Georgia  for  to  wear  her  life 
away, 
As  she  toils  in  the  cotton  and  the  cane. 

My  canoe  is  under  water  and  my  banjo  is  unstrung; 

I  'm  tired  of  living  any  more; 
My  eyes  shall  look  downward  and  my  song  shall  be 
unsung 

While  I  stay  on  the  old  Kentucky  shore. 

My  eyes  are  getting  blinded,  and  I  cannot  see  my  way. 

Hark!  there  's  somebody  knocking  at  the  door — 
Oh!  I  hear  the  angels  calling,  and  I  see  my  Nelly  Gray, 

Farewell  to  the  old  Kentucky  shore. 

Chorus. 

Oh,  my  darling  Nelly  Gray,  up  in  heaven  there  they 
say 
That  they  '11  never  take  you  from  me  any  more. 
I  'm  a-coming,  coming,  coming,  as  the  angels  clear  the 
way, 
Farewell  to  the  old  Kentucky  shore! 

It  is  not  known  just  what  prompted  the  writing 
of  the  song.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  the  atmosphere 
of  Otterbein  University,  at  the  time  it  was  written, 

143 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

was  heavily  charged  with  the  sentiment  it  contains 
and  that  a  sensitive  soul  and  gifted  genius  like 
Benjamin  R.  Hanby  breathed  this  atmosphere  suf- 
ficiently accounts  for  the  song.  It  is  certain  that 
the  song  was  of  great  service  in  promoting  the 
cause  of  human  freedom  and  deserves  to  be  classed 
with  Mrs.  Stowe's  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  and 
Helper's  "Impending  Crisis,"  in  the  influence  it 
exerted.  It  is  well  that  among  the  interesting 
events  of  the  sixtieth  anniversary  is  to  be  the  plac- 
ing of  a  bronze  tablet  in  appreciative  commemo- 
ration of  the  genius  of  this  gifted  son. 

Otterbein  University  is  one  of  the  institutions 
that  did  not  need  to  shift  position  to  adjust  itself 
to  the  progress  of  events  which  culminated  in  the 
issue  of  the  emancipation  proclamation,  and  the 
overthrow  of  slavery.  From  the  very  first,  and 
throughout  the  great  conflict,  it  maintained  the 
position  which  at  last  triumphed.  This  honorable 
record  of  the  university,  in  one  of  the  most  not- 
able conflicts  that  ever  occurred  in  our  country, 
and  indeed  in  the  world,  cannot  but  be  a  matter 
of  great  satisfaction  and  just  pride  to  its  friends 
through  all  time. 


144 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 


OHAPTEK    X. 

Otterbein    University    and    the    Temperance    Reform — "The 
Westerville  Whisky  War." 

As  upon  the  question  of  slavery  so  upon  the 
question  of  temperance,  the  attitude  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  determined  the  attitude  of  Ot- 
terbein University.  While  not  one  of  the  earliest 
Protestant  churches  organized  in  this  country,  it 
was  one  of  the  very  earliest  to  assert  itself  in  an 
official  way  upon  the  subject  of  temperance  and 
abstinence  from  intoxicating  drinks.  As  early  as 
1814,  the  year  preceding  the  first  General  Confer- 
ence, the  following  action  was  taken  by  what  was 
known  as  the  Eastern  Conference,  and  inserted  in 
the  Book  of  Discipline  as  the  law  of  the  Church : 

"Article  II.  Every  member  shall  abstain  from 
intoxicating  drink  and  use  it  only  on  necessity  as 
a  medicine." 

ISTow  when  it  is  remembered  how  common  and 
well  nigh  universal  was  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquor  at  this  early  date,  it  is  not  a  little  remark- 
able that  such  radical  and  emphatic  action  should 
be  taken  by  any  church,  but  that  it  should  be  taken 
by  a  body  of  German  ministers  representing  a 
church  composed,  at  the  time,  almost  wholly  of 
Germans,  so  proverbially  slow  to  take  hold  of  the 
temperance  reform,  is  quite  unexampled.  With 
a  single  exception,  so  far  as  known,  it  is  the  earli- 

10  145 


BUstory  of  Otterbein  University 

est  ecclesiastical  action  on  record  prohibiting  the 
use  of  intoxicating  liquor  as  a  beverage.  The  Gen- 
eral Association  of  Massachusetts  Proper  took 
action  at  its  session  in  1811  by  appointing  a  com- 
mittee of  which  Rev.  Dr.  Worcester  was  chair- 
man, to  draft  the  constitution  of  a  society  whose 
object  should  be  to  check  the  progress  of  intem- 
perance. The  society,  however,  was  not  organized 
until  1813,  so  that  it  began  its  work  just  the  year 
before  the  adoption  by  the  United  Brethren 
Church  of  the  action  above  recited. 

This  action  of  the  United  Brethren  Church  was 
followed  by  that  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1821,  which  was  evidently  aimed  at  the  somewhat 
common  practice  of  farmers  in  Virginia,  Mary- 
land, Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  to  erect  distilleries 
on  their  farms  and,  in  addition  to  their  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  engage  in  the  manufacture  of 
whisky.     The  action  taken  was  as  follows : 

"Resolved,  That  neither  preacher  nor  lay  mem- 
ber shall  be  allowed  to  carry  on  a  distillery;  and 
that  distillers  be  requested  to  willingly  cease  the 
business ;  that  the  members  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence be  requested  to  lay  this  resolution  before  the 
several  annual  conferences ;  that  it  shall  then  be 
the  duty  of  the  preachers  to  labor  against  the  evils 
of  intemperance  during  the  interval  between  this 
and  the  next  General  Conference,  when  the  sub- 
ject shall  again  be  taken  up  for  further  consider- 
ation." 

Subsequent  events  make  it  evident  that  the  re- 
quest to  willingly  cease  the  business  of  distilling 
liquor  was  not  complied  with  by  all  the  members 

146 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

of  the  Church,  thus  engaged,  and  that  among  those 
who  failed  to  comply  were  some  ministers  and  ex- 
horters.  Accordingly  the  General  Conference  of 
1833  took  action  especially  to  prohibit  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  liquors  by  this  class  of  mem- 
bers.    The  action  is  in  the  words  following: 

''Should  any  exhorter,  preacher,  or  elder,  from 
and  after  the  next  annual  conferences  in  1834,  b© 
engaged  in  the  distilling  or  vending  of  ardent 
spirits,  he  shall,  for  the  first  and  second  offense, 
be  accountable  to  the  quarterly  or  yearly  confer- 
ence of  which  he  is  a  member ;  said  conference  will 
in  meekness  admonish  the  offending  brother  to  de- 
sist from  the  distillation  and  vending  of  ardent 
spirits  as  the  case  may  be;  should  these  friendly 
admonitions  fail,  and  the  party  continue,  and  it 
be  proven  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  yearly  confer- 
ence, if  a  preacher  or  elder,  or  before  the  quar- 
terly conference,  if  an  exhorter,  such  preacher, 
elder,  or  exhorter  will  for  the  time  not  be  consid- 
ered a  member  of  the  Church." 

That  the  advance  position  which  the  Church 
took  and  maintained  upon  the  temperance  ques- 
tion should  meet  with  opposition  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  even  among  the  ministers, 
will  not  appear  strange  to  those  who  know  how 
lax  were  the  notions  which  generally  prevailed 
upon  this  question  at  the  time,  especially  among 
the  Germans.  Many  interesting  instances  might 
be  given  to  show  how  men  engaged  in  distilling 
and  selling  liquor  were  led  by  the  bold  and  rad- 
ical position  of  the  Church  to  abandon  the  busi- 
ness.    Ex-Bishop  Hanby,  in  Spayth's  "History  of 


147 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  Church,"  relates  that  in  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania,  about  the  year  1835,  a  man  named 
Abraliani  Hess  was  converted  during  a  revival  in 
the  neighborhood.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  o^vn- 
ing  several  farms  and  a  large  distillery.  Becom- 
ing awakened  to  the  sin  and  evil  of  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  he  at  once 
dismantled  the  distillery  and  converted  it  into  a 
house  of  worship.  On  the  very  spot  where  the  ket- 
tles stood  he  erected  a  pulpit,  so  that  thenceforth 
instead  of  the  fiery  liquors  for  the  destruction  of 
men's  bodies  and  souls  there  issued  forth  the 
streams  of  life.* 

An  aged  layman  of  the  Church  in  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  who,  in  the  sixties,  was  a  parish- 
ioner of  the  author,  gave  him  in  substance,  this 
account  of  himself:  "In  my  younger  days,  in  con- 
nection with  my  farm,  I  conducted  a  distillery,  as 
many  farmers  did  in  those  days.  I  was  a  member 
of  the  United  Brethren  Church  and  faithful  in 
attendance  upon  its  services;  but  the  preachers 
would  frequently  render  me  uncomfortable  by 
their  radical  utterances  upon  the  subject  of  tem- 
perance ;  yet  I  bore  it  all.  At  last  they  visited  me 
and  urged  and  demanded  that  I  cease  the  business 
of  distilling  and  selling  liquor.  I  considered  this 
an  unwarrantable  interference  with  my  business 
and  refused  to  comply.  Then  they  assured  me 
that  unless  I  ceased  the  business  they  would  be 
obliged  to  expel  me  from  the  Church.  I  was  stub- 
born and  told  them  they  could  proceed,  as  I  in- 
tended to  continue  the  business.  True  to  their 
warning,  they  expelled  me.     This  brought  me  to 

•Berger's  History  of  the  United  Brethren  Church.    Pages  250,  251. 

148 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

my  senses.  I  had  not  before  realized  the  strength 
of  my  attachment  tO'  the  Church.  I  was  perfectly 
miserable  out  of  the  communion  of  the  Church. 
I  hastened  to  confess  my  wrong  in  clinging  to  my 
distillery  instead  of  the  Church  and  told  them  that 
the  old  distillery  might  go  if  they  would  reinstate 
me  in  the  Church.  This  they  joyfully  did,"  said 
the  old  man,  as  the  tears  streamed  down  his  face, 
"and  in  this  Church  I  expect  to  spend  all  the  rest 
of  my  days."  And  in  it  he  did  spend  all  his  days, 
having  long  since  gone  to  his  reward. 

The  General  Conference  of  1841  again  took  up 
the  subject  of  temperance  and  the  distilling,  vend- 
ing, and  using  of  ardent  spirits  was  forbidden  to 
all  the  members  of  the  Church,  a  position  which 
the  Church  has  ever  since  maintained.  This, 
therefore,  was  the  position  held  by  the  United 
Brethren  Church  in  184Y  when  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity was  founded,  and  to  this  position  the  insti- 
tution has  always  been  true.  While  there  have 
always  been  differences  of  opinion  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty  and  the  managers  of  the  col- 
lege as  to  the  most  effective  way  to  deal  with  the 
subject  of  temperance  so  as  to  check  and  prevent 
the  ravages  of  intemperance,  faculty  and  man- 
agers have  always  stood  together  in  firm  opposi- 
tion to  the  manufacture,  sale,  and  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  as  a  beverage.  Perhaps  at  no  time 
has  a  majority  of  the  faculty  believed  that  to  or- 
ganize a  party  expressly  to  deal  with  this  ques- 
tion was  practically  the  best  plan,  yet  there  have 
been  prominent  members  of  the  faculty  who  have 
held  this  view.     Rev.  H.  A.  Thompson,  for  four- 

149 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

teen  years  president  of  the  collegej  was  a  strict 
party  Prohibitionist.  He  was  very  prominent  in 
the  State  and  national  councils  of  the  party  and 
was  called  upon  to  preside  over  its  conventions  at 
times,  and  in  1880,  when  ISTeil  Dew  was  nominated 
for  President  on  the  Prohibition  ticket,  President 
Thompson  was  nominated  for  Vice-President. 
The  prominence  of  Westerville  and  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity as  a  temperance  center  has  attracted  to  it 
many  of  the  most  prominent  temperance  cham- 
pions of  the  country,  nearly  all  of  whom  have 
spoken  from  Westerville  platforms.  Among;  those 
who  have  thus  appeared  are  John  P.  St.  John, 
Gideon  P.  Stewart,  George  W.  Bain,  Frances  E. 
Willard,  J.  Ellen  Foster,  Clara  B.  Hoffman,  G. 
P.  Macklin,  Mrs.  Annie  Wittenmeyer,  Anna 
Shaw,  Belva  A.  Lockwood,  Mary  A.  Livermore, 
Susan  B.  Anthony,  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  and 
many  others. 

The  position  of  Otterbein  University  upon  the 
temperance  question  is  well  exemplified  in  the  way 
the  question  has  been  managed  in  Westerville  dur- 
ing the  sixty  years  that  the  institution  has  existed 
in  the  place.  Of  course  it  is  not  intended  to  claim 
for  the  university  all  the  credit  for  the  main- 
tenance of  temperance  principles  in  its  home 
town,  any  more  than  it  is  intended  to  admit  that 
the  institution  should  bear  all  the  blame  for  any 
failures  to  maintain  these  principles  at  all  times; 
but  it  is  fair  to  claim  that  the  university  has  borne 
a  leading  part  in  securing  and  maintaining  the 
best  that  has  been  attained  upon  the  subject  of 
temperance  in  the  government  of  the  place.     The 

150 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

sentiment  has  always,  since  the  establishment  of 
Otterbein  University  here,  been  overwhelmingly 
in  favor  of  prohibiting  the  traffic  in  intoxicating 
liquors,  whatever  the  character  of  the  laws  might 
be.  When  prohibitory  laws  were  available  they 
have  been  used ;  when  no  such  laws  were  avail- 
able the  effort  has  been  to  maintain  prohibition 
by  the  force  of  public  sentiment.  This  public 
sentiment  has  been  so'  pronounced  as  to  render  the 
attempt  to  conduct  a  saloon  in  the  place  difficult, 
hazardous,  and  unprofitable. 

The  first  determined  effort  to  establish  a  saloon 
in  Westerville  was  made  during  the  summer  of 
1875.  Mr.  Henry  H.  Corbin  and  his  wife,  Phy- 
loxena,  were  the  bold  pair  who  thus  undertook  to 
defy  and  outrage  the  public  sentiment  of  the  place. 
The  wife  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  her  hus- 
band because  she  was  not  only  in  fullest  accord 
with  him  in  the  effort,  but  was,  if  possible,  the 
more  determined  and  violent  of  the  two.  After 
getting  the  brick  cottage  on  the  southeast  comer 
of  Main  and  Knox  streets  in  readiness  by  putting 
in  a  bar  and  hanging  up  a  sign,  a  stock  of  liquors 
was  procured  and  put  into  the  building  at  about 
midnight,  ready  to  open  up  business  the  next 
morning;  but  when  Mr.  Corbin  returned  to  open 
his  saloon,  he  discovered  that  some  unknown  per- 
son or  persons  had  entered  the  building  and  emp- 
tied the  liquor  out  of  the  casks  and  demijohns 
upon  the  floor,  as  a  kind  of  foretaste  of  what  was 
to  follow.  Another  stock  was  promptly  procured, 
it  was  rumored  without  cost  to  the  saloon-keeper, 
from  the  liquor  dealers  in  Columbus  who  had  fur- 

151 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

nished  the  first  stock.  The  law  of  the  State,  at 
the  time,  permitted  the  establishment  of  beer,  ale, 
and  porter  houses,  and  it  was  under  the  shelter  of 
this  law  that  the  attempt  to  run  a  saloon  in  Wester- 
ville  was  made.  The  law,  however,  authorized 
councils  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  liquors  to  minors, 
to  habitual  drunkards,  and  to  anybody  after  a  cer- 
tain hour  of  the  night,  all  of  which  the  town  coun- 
cil of  Westerville  made  haste  to  do,  fixing  the  time 
after  which  it  would  be  unlawful  to  sell,  at  the  un- 
usually early  hour  of  eight  o'clock.  Quite 
naturally  the  attempt  to  establish  a  saloon  in 
Westerville  produced  great  excitement  and  quite 
general  indignation  among  the  citizens  of  the  town, 
who  took  great  pride  in  its  temperance  record. 
It  was  to  them  a  startling  sight  to  see  the  sign, 
"Saloon,"  for  the  first  time  hung  up  in  the  town, 
and  there  was  a  deep  feeling  that  something  em- 
phatic and  effective  should  be  promptly  done,  but 
no  one  seemed  clear  as  to  just  what  it  should  be. 
The  attempt  seemed  to  them  so  audacious  that 
many  of  them  would  not  believe  that  Mr.  Corbin 
meant  to  mar  the  fair  record  of  the  place  by  estab- 
lishing a  saloon  in  its  borders,  until  they  saw  the 
sign  up  and  the  liquors  actually  offered  for  sale. 
Then  the  saloon  became  the  sole  topic  of  conver- 
sation and  there  was  earnest  conference  as  to  what 
it  would  be  best  to  do  tO'  prevent  the  calamity,  as  it 
was  well  nigh  universally  regarded.  There  were 
those  who  believed  that  if  Mr.  Corbin  were  visited 
and  reasoned  with  and  entreated  to  abandon  his 
attempt,  he  would  do  so,  and  the  effort  was  made 
but  signally  failed,  and  the  citizens  became  con- 

152 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

vinced  that  deliverance  must  come  in  some  other 
way.  By  a  concerted  arrangement,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  first  day  of  July,  1875,  the  fire-bell  and 
all  the  church-bells  of  the  town  began  to  ring  vio- 
lently at  nine  o'clock.  The  members  of  the  fire 
company  came  rushing  forth  and  took  position  in 
front  of  the  saloon,  and  the  citizens,  many  of 
whom  did  not  understand  the  occasion  of  the 
alarm,  came  rushing  to  the  same  place.  The  sa- 
loon-keeper, probably  expecting  an  assault,  came 
forth  from  his  saloon  flourishing  a  revolver  in  each 
hand  and  with  horrid  oaths  defied  the  crowd ;  but 
the  crowd  seemed  to  have  no  purpose  of  violence. 
The  demonstration  seemed  rather  to  impress  Mr. 
Corbin  with  the  strength  and  unanimity  of  the 
sentiment  against  his  business,  in  the  hope  that  he 
might  be  induced  to  abandon  it.  There  were  songs 
and  prayers  and  speeches.  The  speeches  were  by 
the  pastors  of  the  churches,  professors  of  the  col- 
lege, and  others  of  the  most  reputable  and  influ- 
ential citizens  of  the  place,  both  men  and  women. 
Some  of  these  addresses  were  in  terms  of  severe 
denunciation  of  the  business,  while  others  were 
conciliatory  and  persuasive  in  their  tone,  but  all 
emphatically  against  the  saloon.  At  last  Mr.  Cor- 
bin himself  asked  and  was  accorded  the  privilege 
of  addressing  the  crowd.  He  plead  his  rights  un- 
der the  law;  said  that  he  proposed  to  keep  an 
orderly  house  and  sell  only  pure  and  wholesome 
liquors.  His  brief  speech  plainly  indicated  that 
he  had  little  appreciation  of  the  terrible  character 
of  the  business  in  which  he  was  engaged  and  that 
he  cared  little  for  the  overAvhelming  sentiment  of 

153 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  community  against  it.  It  revealed  the  fact, 
too,  that  if  the  citizens  of  Westerville  would  pre- 
serve the  proud  record  of  the  place  for  temperance, 
morality,  and  order,  they  had  no  holiday  task  be- 
fore them.  So  before  this  meeting  in  front  of  the 
saloon  dispersed,  it  appointed  what  was  called  a 
Vigilance  Committee,  composed  of  the  best  citi- 
zens of  the  place,  to  direct  the  crusade  against  the 
saloon.  This  committee,  as  soon  as  appointed,  re- 
paired to  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  consulta- 
tion and  action.  Among  other  things,  this  com- 
mittee decided  to  hold  a  number  of  mass  meetings 
of  the  citizens  to  intensify  and  unify  the  temper- 
ance sentiment  of  the  place;  it  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  visit  Mr.  Corbin  and  endeavor  to  per- 
suade him  to  quit  the  business;  it  also  appointed 
a  prosecuting  committee  to  take  charge  of  any  legal 
measures  that  might  be  deemed  necessary,  and 
asked  for  funds  to  carry  on  these  prosecutions, 
which  met  with  a  response  by  the  pledge  of  about 
five  thousand  dollars  for  this  purpose.  It  also  cir- 
culated what  was  called  a  Citizen's  Pledge.  It  was 
in  the  following  words : 

"We,  the  undersigned  citizens  of  Westerville 
and  vicinity,  hereby  solemnly  pledge  ourselves  that 
we  will  not  patronize  any  dry-goods  merchant, 
groceryman,  physician,  lawyer,  mechanic,  or  any 
other  business  man,  or  employ  for  any  purpose  a 
laboring  man  or  hire  help  that  will  frequent,  en- 
courage, sustain,  or  furnish  aid  to  a  liquor  saloon 
in  Westerville." 

This  pledge  secured  the  signatures  of  six  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  persons.     There  were  prob- 

154 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

ably  not  a  score  of  voters  whose  names  were  not 
upon  the  pledge.  It  was  printed  and  freely  dis- 
tributed so  that  everybody's  position  might  be 
known. 

The  Vigilance  Committee  also  decided  to  em- 
ploy only  legal  and  moral  means  to  prevent  the 
establishment  of  a  saloon  in  Westerville.  This 
last  action  became  important  in  connection  with 
some  prosecutions  which  followed  later. 

While  the  churches  and  the  college  and  the  cit- 
izens generally,  under  the  direction  of  the  Vigi- 
lance Committee,  were  holding  mass  meetings  and 
bringing  moral  and  legal  means  to  bear  against  the 
saloon,  some  unknown  persons  began  to  use,  under 
cover  of  darkness,  measures  of  a  violent  character. 
On  Saturday  night  following  the  mass  meeting  in 
front  of  the  saloon,  the  windows  of  the  building 
were  riddled  with  stones,  and  on  Monday  night 
following,  while  a  temperance  mass  meeting  was 
in  progress  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  there  was  a  deaf- 
ening explosion  in  the  saloon  building,  seriously 
damaging  but  not  wrecking  the  building.  This 
explosion  was  followed  at  intervals  by  two  others, 
the  last  of  which  so  wrecked  the  building  that  but 
a  single  room  was  left  in  a  condition  to  be  occu- 
pied, and  in  this  the  saloonist  imdertook  to  con- 
tinue his  unwelcome  business. 

These  acts  of  lawless  violence  attracted  wide  at- 
tention. ISTewspaper  reporters  of  the  principal 
papers  of  the  State,  and  beyond,  visited  the  scene 
of  conflict  and  furnished  extended  and  highly-col- 
ored accounts  to  the  papers  they  represented. 
Many  of  these  accounts  betrayed  sympathy  with 

155 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  saloonist  and  prejudice  against  tlie  citizens. 
They  represented  the  latter  as  a  body  of  fanatics 
ready  to  go  to  any  length  of  lawlessness  and  vio- 
lence to  prevent  a  saloon  in  Westerville.  The 
truth,  hoAvever,  was  that,  with  rare  exceptions,  the 
citizens  were  as  earnestly  opposed  to  lawless  vio- 
lence as  to  the  saloon,  but  they  were  not  to  be 
turned  aside  by  the  misrepresentation  and  abuse 
to  which  they  were  subjected  from  bringing  all 
legal  and  moral  means  possible  to  bear  against  the 
saloon.  They  stood  firm  and  w^ent  heroically  for- 
ward in  spite  of  the  slanderous  attempt  to  hold 
them  responsible  for  the  lawless  efforts  of  un- 
known parties. 

The  committee  on  prosecutions  began  its  work 
by  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Corbin  for  threatening  the 
lives  of  citizens.  For  this  he  was  put  under  bonds. 
Upon  paying  bond  he  resumed  his  business  and  be- 
gan a  counter-prosecution  by  the  arrest  of  seven 
of  the  most  prominent  and  reputable  citizens  on 
the  charge  of  inciting  a  riot.  Five  of  those  ar- 
rested were  ministers  of  the  gospel,  as  follows: 
Eev.  R.  H.  Wallace,  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church ; 
Rev.  H.  M.  Robertson,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church ;  ex-Bishop  Wm.  Hanby,Rev.  J.  M.  Spang- 
ler,  and  Rev.  W.  H.  Spencer,  the  last  three  all 
members  of  the  United  Brethren  Church.  These 
arrests  produced  gTcat  excitement,  and  when  they 
were  taken  to  Columbus  to  answer  to  the  charge, 
a  delegation  of  several  hundred  citizens,  men  and 
women,  went  along  and  thronged  the  court-room  to 
overflowing.  The  German  justice  before  whom 
they  appeared,  so  plainly  revealed  his  sympathy 

156 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

with  the  saloonist  and  his  prejudice  against  the 
accused  that  thej  thought  it  well  to  waive  exami- 
nation, and  so  they  were  all  bound  over  to  court, 
and  the  citizens  vied  with  each  other  in  eagerness 
to  sign  their  bonds.  Some  of  the  best  citizens  of 
Columbus  manifested  their  interest  in  the  struggle 
by  offering  to  go  on  these  bonds,  but  the  citizens 
of  Westerville  quickly  more  than  met  the  demand, 
and  all  returned  to  Westerville  determined  to  con- 
tinue their  fight  against  the  saloon.  When  the 
time  for  trial  came  they  were  subjected  to  a  very 
determined  prosecution  for  four  days,  more  than 
fifty  witnesses  being  examined,  but  at  the  end  all 
were  acquitted.  The  arrest  of  these  prominent 
and  worthy  citizens  intensified  the  opposition  to 
the  saloonist.  A  close  watch  was  kept  upon  his 
place  of  business  and  when  the  law  was  violated 
he  was  promptly  subjected  to  prosecution.  Thus 
he  was  arrested  and  fined  for  selling  to  minors,  to 
habitual  drunkards,  and  for  keeping  his  saloon 
open  after  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  One  of 
the  note-worthy  trials  was  on  this  last  charge.  On 
it  Mr.  Oorbin  demanded  and  was  accorded  a  jury 
trial.  Then  in  the  selection  of  the  jury  there  was 
an  attempt  to  rule  off  the  jury  all  who  had  taken 
any  part  in  the  crusade  against  the  saloon  by  tak- 
ing part  in  temperance  mass  meetings,  by  sub- 
scribing money  for  the  prosecution,  by  signing  the 
citizens'  pledge  recited  on  a  previous  page,  etc.  A 
series  of  eleven  questions  was  framed  and  pro- 
pounded to  each  proposed  juror.  Among  these 
questions  these  occurred : 

157 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

"Do  you  not  regard  tlie  business  of  selling  beer, 
ale,  and  porter  as  being  about  as  criminal  as  horse 
stealing  ? 

"If  you  knew  wbo  did  the  blowing  up  of  Cor- 
bin's  saloon  would  you  inform  on  the  guilty  person 
or  persons  without  being  compelled  to  do  so  by 
process  of  law  ? 

"Have  you  not  furnished  means  directly  or  in- 
directly to  carry  on  the  prosecutions  against  Cor- 
bin  in  the  saloon  business  ? 

"Have  you  not  signed  a  pledge  that  you  will 
not  patronize  or  employ  any  one  who  patronizes 
or  encourages  a  saloon  in  Westerville  ?" 

The  bearing  of  these  questions  is  readily  seen 
and  it  is  plain  from  the  history  already  given  that 
if  allowed  to  bear  in  the  selection  of  a  jury,  the 
material  for  a  jury  would  be  very  limited  indeed, 
and  composed  wholly  of  those  who  were  too 
friendly  to  the  business  to  take  any  part  in  the 
effort  to  prevent  a  saloon  in  Westerville.  But  for 
the  fact  that  the  mayor,  before  whom  the  trial  was 
held,  ruled  out  some  of  these  questions  and  over- 
ruled objections  to  persons  on  account  of  their 
answers  to  questions  no  jury  could  have  been 
found  in  Westerville.  As  it  was,  the  effort  was  so 
difficult  and  tedious  that  when  the  number  reached 
ten  it  was  mutually  agreed  to  proceed  with  that 
number,  and  the  result  was  a  verdict  of  guilty, 
when  the  mayor,  Mr.  J.  R.  Clark,  imposed  a  fine 
of  $25,  which,  with  the  costs,  amounted  to  over 
$83  ;  upon  the  failure  of  the  saloonist  to-  pay  which 
his  stock  of  liquors  was  promptly  seized  and  the 
saloon  closed.     The  case  was  then  appealed  to  the 

158 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

county  court  on  a  writ  of  error,  and  after  Mr.  Cor- 
bin  had  given  security  for  the  costs  the  liquors 
seized  were  restored  to  him  and  he  resumed  busi- 
ness. The  intense  opposition,  however,  crippled 
the  business  and  rendered  it  unprofitable.  At  last 
Mr.  Corbin  tired  of  the  close  surveillance  and 
costly  prosecutions  to  which  he  was  subjected, 
abandoned  his  attempt,  and  the  people  of  Wester- 
ville  had  rest  for  a  period  of  four  years. 

In  1879  this  same  Mr.  Corbin,  through  a  real 
estate  deal,  came  into  possession  of  a  large  frame 
hotel-building  standing  on  a  now  vacant  lot  on 
State  Street  between  the  Weyant  Block  and  the 
Westerville  Bank  building.  Soon  the  rumor  be- 
came current  that  Mr.  Corbin  intended  to  renew 
the  attempt  to  establish  a  saloon,  a  rumor  which 
proved  to  be  well  founded.  The  citizens  met  this 
attempt  with  the  same  unflinching  opposition  with 
which  they  had  met  the  first,  and  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity became  again  the  rallying  center  and  con- 
trolling motive  for  resistance  to  the  attempt. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  the  authorities  of 
the  college  had  announced  to  its  friends  and 
patrons  that  there  were  no  saloons  in  Westerville 
and  that  parents  could  send  their  children  to  the 
college  without  exposing  them  to  the  temptations 
and  demoralizing  influence  of  an  open  saloon.  It 
is  strange  that  any  one  should  so  underestimate 
the  undying  determination  to  maintain  this  record 
as  to  make  a  second  attempt  to  overcome  it  with 
any  hope  of  success.  Mr.  Corbin,  however,  seems 
to  have  concluded  that  by  securing  a  building 
located  near  valuable  property  right  and  left  he 

159 


History  of  Otterbein  University- 
would  be  secure  against  violence,  and  with  this 
fancied  security  he  seemed  willing  to  take  his 
chances  in  again  defying  the  sentiment  of  the 
towTi  and  the  law  of  the  State.  His  assumed 
security  against  violence,  however,  speedily  proved 
a  sad  delusion,  for  on  the  night  of  September  15, 
1879,  at  about  two  o'clock  there  was  an  ex- 
plosion which  shook  the  town  with  earthquake 
violence,  and  the  citizens,  on  rushing  forth  to  see 
what  had  happened^  found  the  Corbin  hotel  and 
saloon  blown  to  pieces.  The  disappearance  of  two 
twenty-six-pound  cans  of  powder  from  an  out- 
house, where,  from  motives  of  safety,  they  were 
stored,  revealed  the  probable  means  by  which  the 
deed  was  accomplished.  So  violent  was  the  concus- 
sion that  the  brick  wall  of  what  is  now  the  Wester- 
ville  Bank  building  was  blown  in  and  the  glass  in 
windows  to  the  distance  of  a  square  and  more  was 
broken  to  pieces,  including  a  large  plate  glass. 
One  of  the  marvels  and  mysteries  of  the  explosion 
was  that  none  of  the  thirteen  persons  in  the  build- 
ing at  the  time  suffered  any  injury  worth  men- 
tioning. So  incredible  did  this  appear  that  it  early 
excited  the  suspicion  that  the  parties  were  not  in 
the  building  as  they  claimed,  and  reputable  citi- 
zens still  adhere  to  this  theory,  although  a  prosecu- 
tion of  Mr.  Corbin,  at  the  instance  of  a  detective, 
failed  to  confirm  the  suspicion.  This  act  of 
violence  by  unknown  parties,  as  the  violence  in  the 
contest  of  1875,  attracted  very  wide  attention,  and 
the  citizens  of  Westerville  were,  for  a  second  time, 
subjected  to  much  unfriendly  criticism,  especially 
by  the  secular   press   of  the    State   and   county. 

100 


Rev.  DANIEL  BENDER 
A  Former  Financial  Agent 


Rev.  D.  R.  miller,  D.  D. 
Endowment  Agent  for  Seven  Years 


JOHN  HULITT 

.Wbo  Founded  the  Hulitt  Chair 

of  Philosophy 


GEORCtE  a.  LAMBERT 
Benefactor  for  the  Lamhert  Music 
and  Art  Hall 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

There  seemed  no-  way  for  the  citizens  to  stop  these 
assaults  of  the  press  except  bj  yielding  the  fight 
against  the  saloon,  and  this  tliey  were  determined 
not  to  do.  What  in  reason  could  be  done  to  refute 
these  accusations  was  done.  The  council  met  and 
promptly  offered  a  reward  of  $300  for  the  arrest 
and  conviction  of  the  persons  who'  blew  up  the 
saloon  building.  At  a  mass  meeting,  held  on  Mon- 
day evening,  September  15,  the  citizens  made  an 
additional  offer  of  $300  reward,  and  a  mass  meet- 
ing held  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  16th,  took  the 
following  action : 

"Resolved,  That,  while  we  deprecate  the  attempt 
to  establish  and  maintain  a  drinking  saloon  in  our 
community  as  detrimental  to  the  peace,  order,  and 
prosperity  of  the  town,  we  at  the  same  time  ear- 
nestly condemn  all  violent  and  illegal  measures 
and  such  as  destroy  property  and  imperil  life. 

"Resolved,  That  we  heartily  endorse  the  action 
of  the  town  council  in  offering  a  reward  of  $300 
for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  the  party  or  parties 
who  blew  up  the  Corbin  hotel  and  saloon  and  dam- 
aged tlie  adjacent  property,  and  we  will  do  what 
.we  can  to  ferret  out  the  guilty  parties. 

"Henry  Gaest, 

"De.    Abnee   Andeus, 

"A.  K  Caeson, 

"Committee." 

The  prominence  and  activity  of  the  United 
Brethren  Church  and  Otterbein  University  in  the 
contest  against  the  saloon,  made  them  especial 
objects  of  criticism  and  attack,  as  responsible  for 

11  '  161 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  violence  whicli  had  taken  place.  It  was  even 
rumored  that  some  saloon  sympathizers  expressed 
their  malignity  by  threatening  to  bum  down  the 
college-buildings.  These  threats  coming  to  the 
ears  of  the  insurance  companies  carrying  risks  on 
the  buildings,  it  was  reported  that  they  seriously 
canvassed  the  question  of  canceling  their  certifi- 
cates on  account  of  the  extra  hazard.  The  officials 
saw  fit  to  set  themselves  right  before  the  public  by 
calling  a  meeting,  at  which  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  adopted : 

"Resolved,  That  we  are  not  in  sympathy  with 
the  wanton  destruction  of  property  for  any  pur- 
pose, and  that  whatever  may  have  been  the  motive 
of  the  party  who  blew  up  the  Corbin  house  and 
saloon,  we  condemn  the  act,  and  hope  that  every 
legal  effort  will  be  used  to  bring  the  guilty  parties 
to  justice. 

"John   Haywood,   Chairman. 
"Henry  Garst,  Secretary." 

Mr.  Corbin  for  a  time  maintained  a  defiant 
attitude  and  declared  his  purpose  to  continue  the 
saloon  business ;  but  his  building  was  so  wrecked 
that  it  would  no  longer  serve  the  purpose,  and  as 
no  one  was  willing  to  risk  the  destruction  of  his 
property  by  renting  it  for  saloon  purposes,  he  was 
constrained,  by  force  of  necessity,  to  quit  the  busi- 
ness, and  Westerville  was  again  free. 

Only  once  since,  in  the  summer  of  1889,  was 
there  a  feeble  attempt  to  conduct  a  saloon  in  Wes- 
terville. There  was  a  prohibition  ordinance  in 
force  at  the  time,  which  was  promptly  amended  to 

162 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

the  form  "which  has  continued  down  to  the  present 
time.  Under  this  ordinance  the  authorities  took 
prompt  hold  of  the  matter,  and  the  saloonists 
speedily  took  their  departure. 

From  this  history  it  is  plain  that  to^  keep  Wes- 
terville  free  from  saloons  during  the  sixty  years 
that  it  has  been  a  college  town,  has  been  no  easy 
task.  Eternal  vigilance  and  a  readiness  to  meet 
any  attempt  to  establish  a  saloon  with  a  united 
and  determined  resistance,  bringing  into  service 
every  resource  known  to  the  law,  have  been  the 
price  of  freedom  from  these  baneful  institutions. 
Although  the  victory  over  the  liquor  forces,  when 
the  issue  has  been  squarely  joined,  has  always  been 
signal,  yet  the  reactionary  influence  of  greed  and 
appetite  has  been  constantly  active  in  favor  of  the 
traffic  in  liquor,  and  it  has  kept  the  friends  of  tem- 
perance constantly  on  the  alert  to  maintain  the 
ordinance  and  especially  to  enforce  it.  Relaxation 
on  their  part  has  always  been  speedily  followed  by 
evasions  and  violations  of  the  law,  and  then  these 
evasions  and  violations  were  used  as  arguments  for 
the  repeal  of  the  prohibition  ordinance.  These 
arguments  here,  as  elsewhere,  have  run  something 
after  this  fashion :  Prohibition  does  not  prohibit ; 
prohibition  ordinances  are  not  and  cannot  be  en- 
forced. In  spite  of  prohibitory  ordinances  the  sale 
of  liquor  is  constantly  going  on,  and  there  is  as 
much  drinking  and  drunkenness  with  prohibition 
as  there  would  be  with  open  saloons,  while  all  rev- 
enue from  the  business  is  lost.  Therefore,  conclude 
these  reasoners,  it  would  be  better  to  repeal  pro- 

163 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

hibitory  ordinances  and  secure  much-needed  rev- 
enue in  the  taxes  paid  by  those  conducting  saloons. 

To  these  contentions  the  friends  of  prohibition 
have  replied  that  prohibition  does  prohibit,  if  the 
officers  of  the  law  are  watchful  to  detect  the  viola- 
tions of  law  and  prompt  to  prosecute  offenders, 
and  this  they  hold  to  be  the  duty  of  the  officers. 
They  admit  that  the  officers  will  be  greatly  aided 
in  enforcing  these  as  well  as  all  other  laws,  by  a 
strong  public  sentiment  in  support  of  such  enforce- 
ment, and  hence  they  have  held  it  to  be  their  duty 
to  keep  the  subject  in  agitation  by  public  and  pri- 
vate effort,  stimulating  the  sentiment  against  the 
traffic  to  such  an  extent  that  the  negligence  of  offi- 
cers will  not  be  tolerated.  As  to  the  revenue  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  traffic,  their  contention  has 
been  that  the  additional  expense  to  maintain  law 
and  order  with  saloons  will  far  exceed  any  revenue 
derived  from  the  business,  so  that,  leaving  out  of 
account  the  dreadful  havoc  of  the  business  for 
which  no  revenue  can  compensate,  the  financial 
argument  is  clearly  in  favor  of  prohibition.  Thus 
far  these  and  other  arguments  have  held  this  col- 
lege community  true  to  practical  prohibition  for 
the  past  sixty  years  by  an  overwhelming  majority, 
and  while  the  law  has  not  always  been  as  well  en- 
forced and  obeyed  as  could  be  desired,  no  thought- 
ful and  candid  citizen  will  contend  that  there  has 
been  as  much  drinking  and  drunkenness  as  there 
would  have  been  with  legalized  saloons. 

The  experience  of  this  commimity  teaches  con- 
vincingly that  prohibition,  even  when  imperfectly 
enforced,  is  a  great  gain,  and  that  the  true  remedy 

164 


The  Attitude  of  the  College  on  Temperance 

for  any  evils  under  prohibition  is  not  repeal,  but 
enforcement  of  the  laws.  For  sixty  years  Otterbein 
University  has  stood  as  the  exponent  of  sound  tem- 
perance principles  and  has  maintained  its  position 
in  the  front  ranks  of  the  temperance  forces  of  the 
land,  not  as  a  partisan  or  mere  theorist,  but  in  a 
practical  way  joining  in  the  conflict  to  stay  the 
progress  and  accomplish  the  overthrow  of  the  giant 
curse  of  our  land  and  times. 


165 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTER  XL 

Literary     Societies    of    Otterbein     University — Absence    of 
Fraternities. 

Literary  societies  early  assumed  a  position  of 
great  interest  and  importance  in  Otterbein  Uni- 
versity, a  position  which  they  have  ever  since 
maintained.  The  first  literary  society  was  organ- 
ized in  1851,  and  was  called  the  Otterbein  Ly- 
ceum. The  following  accotmt  of  it  appears  in  the 
catalogue  for  1852 : 

"This  society  was  established  March  28,  1851. 
It  is  a  permanent  society,  connected  with  the  in- 
stitution, and  is  now  in  a  very  prosperous  condi- 
tion. Arrangements  were  made  at  its  first  forma- 
tion to  secure  a  library  as  soon  as  possible,  and  as 
a  result,  between  three  and  four  hundred  volumes 
have  been  collected.  The  number  of  books  is  now 
rapidly  increasing.  Since  the  society  has  been  es- 
tablished, the  names  of  from  eighty  to  one  hun- 
dred members  have  been  enrolled.  On  account  of 
its  great  numbers  it  is  divided  into  two  classes, 
each  conducting  its  meetings  in  its  own  room,  un- 
der the  management  of  its  own  ojfficers.  Both 
divisions,  however,  are  governed  by  the  same  con- 
stitution and  by-laws." 

The  society  did  not  long  continue  under  this 
name,  but  adopted  the  name,  Philomathean  So- 
ciety, and  in  the  catalogue  for  1853  appears  this 

account  of  it: 

166 


Literary  Societies  Formed 

"This  society  has  just  published  its  constitution 
and  a  catalogue  of  its  members.  It  is  in  a  flour- 
ishing condition,  and  to  the  diligent  student  fur- 
nishes important  facilities  for  improvement  in 
exercises  in  elocution  and  composition;  and,  in 
connection  with  the  library,  for  storing  the  mind 
with  general  information." 

The  library  here  referred  to  is  the  same  as 
that  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Otterbein 
Lyceum,  and  there  is  this  account  of  it  in  the  cat- 
alogue of  1853 : 

"There  is  a  library  of  several  hundred  volumes 
belonging  to  the  literary  society,  and  vigorous  and 
successful  efforts  are  being  made  for  its  enlarge- 
ment. To  this  library  all  the  members  of  the  so- 
ciety have  free  access,  and  other  students  can  have 
access  also  by  the  payment  of  a  small  fee." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  idea  that  it  is  the 
mission  of  a  literary  society  not  simply  to  drill  in 
literary  exercises  in  the  form  of  orations,  compo- 
sitions, and  debates,  and  furnish  and  decorate  lit- 
erai-y  halls,  but  to  collect  and  render  accessible  to 
the  members  literary  treasures  in  the  form  of 
books,  dates  back  to  the  very  beginning  in  the  his- 
tory of  literary  societies  in  Otterbein  University. 
This  idea  has  been  kept  prominent  ever  since,  and 
among  the  most  up-to-date  and  choice  selections  of 
books  accessible  to  students  have  been  the  libraries 
of  the  literary  societies.  Several  of  these  societies 
have  secured  small  endowments  for  their  libraries, 
from  the  proceeds  of  which  additions  are  each  year 
made  to  these  libraries,  and  some  of  the  best  peri- 
odical literature  is  procured. 

1G7 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

As  has  been  before  stated,  the  college  procured 
a  small  but  not  very  choice  collection  of  books  in 
the  purchase  of  the  Blenden  Young  Men's  Sem- 
inary, to  which  slight  additions  were  made  by  do- 
nations of  books  from  time  to  time,  but  no  notice 
is  taken  in  the  catalogue  of  any  library  except  that 
of  the  literary  society  until  the  catalogue  of  1858, 
when  the  college  library  is  reported  as  containing 
thirteen  hundred  volumes. 

The  Philomathean  Society,  like  its  predecessor, 
the  Lyceum,  on  account  of  the  large  number  of 
members,  was  conducted  for  a  time  in  two  divis- 
ions, known  as  'No.  1  and  !N"o.  2,  After  a  time  it 
was  deemed  best  to  organize  two  distinct  literary 
societies,  and  a  division  of  the  gentlemen  students 
was  made,  in  the  main  following  the  line  of  divis- 
ion of  the  original  Philomathean  Society.  One  of 
these  societies  took  the  name,  Philorhetian,  later 
changed  to  Philophronean,  and  the  other  took  the 
former  name,  Philomathean,  and  by  these  names 
they  have  ever  since  been  known.  In  1852  the 
first  literary  society  was  organized  by  the  lady 
students,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  Philalethean. 
In  1871  the  second  literary  society  was  organized 
by  the  ladies,  with  the  name  Cleiorhetean.  Both  the 
division  of  the  members  of  the  original  Philo- 
mathean Society  into  two  new  societies,  and  the 
organization  of  the  second  society  by  the  ladies, 
resulted  in  some  friction  and  antagonism,  which 
tended  to  fix  definite  boundaries  between  them, 
and  doubtless  promoted  vigor  and  permanence. 
Por  more  than  a  decade  the  literary  societies 
organized  at  this  early  period  had  no  halls  of  their 

168 


Literary  Societies  Formed 

own,  but  held  their  sessions  in  recitation-rooms,  the 
Philophronean  and  Philomathean  societies  meet- 
ing in  the  white  frame  building  standing  where 
the  Christian  Association  building  now  stands, 
which  was  then  the  main  college-building,  and  the 
Philalethean  Society  in  different  recitation-rooms. 
In  the  massive  new  main  building,  whose  erec- 
tion was  begun  in  1855,  commodious  rooms  were 
provided  for  the  three  literary  societies  which  had 
at  that  time  been  organized,  the  Philophronean, 
the  Philomathean,  and  the  Philalethean,  but  the 
erection  of  this  building  was  so  long  delayed,  be- 
cause of  lack  of  means,  that  the  societies  could  not 
begin  to  fit  and  furnish  them  until  1861.  They 
then  addressed  themselves  to  the  task  with  great 
zeal  and  liberality,  and  fitted  and  furnished  them 
in  what  was,  for  the  time,  a  really  elegant  style. 
The  societies  occupied  these  halls  until  the  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  early  morning  of 
January  26,  1870.  It  was  a  sad  day  for  the 
university,  and  especially  sad  for  the  members  of 
the  literary  societies  who,  in  the  smoking  ruins, 
beheld  the  loss  of  what  had  cost  them  years  of  toil 
and  sacrifice.  It  seemed  necessary  that  the  labor- 
ious road  they  had  come  be  traveled  over  again. 
They,  however,  heroically  faced  the  difiicult  situa- 
tion, and  when  the  present  main  building  was 
erected,  in  1870-71,  with  its  four  spacious  rooms 
provided  for  literary  society  halls,  they  promptly 
addressed  themselves  to  the  task,  not  simply  to  re- 
trieve the  disaster  which  had  befallen  them,  but  to 
fit  up  and  furnish  the  new  halls  in  a  style  far  su- 
perior to  those  they  had  lost.  In  this  work  they 

169 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

were  joined  by  the  new  ladies'  society,  the  Cleio- 
rhetan,  which  furnished  the  hall  which  it  now  oc- 
cupies. These  balls  liave  all  been  remodeled  and  re- 
fitted from  time  to  time,  until  they  have  been 
brought  into  their  present  fine  condition  by  large 
and  generous  outlay,  and  compare  favorably  with 
the  best  literary  halls  in  the  State,  the  joy  and 
pride  not  simply  of  their  members,  but  of  the  en- 
tire university. 

While,  as  to  privileges  of  membership,  an  im- 
passable gulf  has  always  been  maintained  between 
the  societies  of  the  gentlemen  and  the  societies  of 
the  ladies,  they  have  always  been  friendly  and  cor- 
dial. The  relations  of  the  brother  societies 
and  of  the  sister  societies  to  each  other,  while 
perhaps  less  cordial,  have  yet  quite  generally  been 
friendly,  with  enough  of  the  spirit  of  rivalry  and 
competition  to  stimulate  each  to  perform  the  best 
literary  work  of  which  it  was  capable.  Occasion- 
ally, indeed,  especially  in  the  somewhat  remote 
past,  this  rivalry  may  have  become  unduly  and  un- 
pleasantly intense.  In  such  cases  the  question  as 
to  which  society  could  surpass  the  other  in  com- 
fortable assurance  of  its  superiority  is  one  with 
which,  happily,  the  historian  need  not  deal.  It 
will  suffice  to  chronicle  the  fact  that  these  societies 
have  all  been  great  factors  in  the  work  of  the 
university,  and  have  done  much  to  stimu- 
late loyalty  and  devotion  to  it.  They  have  estab- 
lished bonds  of  interest  which  have  become 
controlling  motives  to  induce  graduates  and  other 
members  of  these  socieites  to  return  to  the  univer- 
sity, especially  on  commencement  occasions^  to  fird 

170 


Literary  Societies  Formed 

in  their  society  anniversaries,  around  their  ban- 
quet tables,  with  their  toasts  and  speeches,  and 
songs,  the  most  delightful  experiences  of  their 
lives.  What  is  of  far  more  consequence,  these  so- 
cieties have,  in  a  practical  way,  drilled  their  mem- 
bers to  wield  skillfully  and  effectively  the  powers 
developed  in  the  class-room,  and  to  marshal 
quickly  the  ideas  acquired  from  teacher  and  text- 
book, in  the  great  battle  of  truth  against  error  and 
of  right  against  wrong. 

In  the  past  sixty  years  there  have  never  been 
any  secret  societies  or  fraternities  in  Otterbein 
University,  nor  have  they  ever  existed  in  any  of 
the  colleges  founded  by  the  United  Brethren 
Church.  This  will  not  appear  strange  to  those 
who  are  aware  of  the  strong  opposition  tO'  secret 
societies  which  prevailed  in  the  Church  at  the  time 
Otterbein  University  was  founded.  While  this 
opposition  has  been  somewhat  modified  and  ren- 
dered more  discriminating,  it  is  still  widely  prev- 
alent. Many  believe  that  the  absence  of  fraterni- 
ties accounts,  in  part,  at  least,  for  the  vigorous  life, 
good  work,  and  generally  prosperous  condition  of 
the  literary  societies  in  Otterbein  University.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  the  freedom  of  the  university  from 
these  orders  has  kept  the  university  free  also  from 
the  stupid  follies,  the  well-nigh  incredible  cruel- 
ties, and  barbarities,  and  even  fatal  tragedies 
which  are  sometimes  connected  with  the  initiation 
ceremonies  of  the  fraternities.  To  state  as  an  his- 
toric fact  that  Otterbein  University  has  never  had 
fraternities,  is  to  state  what  a  large  majority  of 
the  most  disting-uished  educators,     connected     in 

171 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

many  instances  with  colleges  which  long  have  had 
iraternities  would  be  glad  to  say  of  their  institu- 
tions. This  is  made  evident  in  a  very  interesting 
way  by  a  paper  read  at  the  National  Educational 
Association,  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  1890,  by 
Professor  J.  T.  McFarland,  of  Iowa  Wesleyan 
University.  The  subject  discussed  by  Professor 
McParland  was,  "College  Fraternities,  Their  In- 
fluence and  Control."  The  portion  of  the  paper  re- 
lating to  the  character  of  fraternities  and  their  in- 
fluence in  colleges  is  here  given  as  follows  : 

"When  at  quite  a  late  date  I  saw  from  the  pub- 
lished program  that  I  had  been  assigned  the  task 
of  opening  the  discussion,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I 
would  like  to  know  more  fully  what  the  status  of 
the  fraternities  is  in  the  colleges  of  the  country; 
what  the  judgment  of  college  men  is  concern- 
ing their  influence ;  and  what  methods  are  followed 
in  the  administrative  control  of  them.  To  this  end 
I  sent  out  a  circular  of  inquiry  to  the  college  presi- 
dents of  the  country,  soliciting  answers  to  the  fol- 
lowing questions : 

"1.  What,  if  any,  fraternities  are  organized  in 
your  institution  ? 

"2.  Are  fraternities  prohibited  in  your  insti- 
tution ? 

"3.  If  fraternities  have  been  abolished  in  your 
school,  state  by  what  method,  and  with  what  suc- 
cess? 

"4.  What,  in  your  judgment,  is  the  influence 
of  fraternities  on  scholarship  in  your  school  ? 

"5.  What  is  your  observation  of  the  moral  in- 
fluence of  fraternities  ? 

172 


Literary  Societies  Formed 

"6.  Have  you  found  the  fraternities  to  be 
helps  or  hindrances  in  matters  of  discipline? 

"7.  Have  you  adopted  any  rules  for  the  con- 
trol of  fraternities?  If  so,  state  the  substance  of 
them. 

"8.  What  suggestions  would  you  make  as  to 
principles  and  methods  for  the  regulation  of  fra- 
ternities if  any  special  control  is  desirable  ? 

"9.  On  the  whole,  balancing  their  good  and 
evil  effects,  do  you  regard  the  existence  of  fraterni- 
ties in  your  institution  an  advantage  or  disadvan- 
tage ? 

''I  had  received  replies  to  these  questions  before 
leaving  home  from  one  hundred  and  thirty  in- 
stitutions, which,  considering  the  lateness  of  the 
date  at  which  I  sent  out  the  circular,  the  fact  that 
it  fell  on  a  time  when  the  colleges  generally  had 
closed,  and  many  of  the  presidents  were  away  from 
home,  together  with  the  almost  irresistible  gravita- 
tion which  circulars  with  long  lists  of  questions 
have  toward  the  waste-basket,  is  a  very  fair  re- 
turn. 

"I  will  not  attempt  to  present  any  detailed  di- 
gest of  the  answers  which  I  have  received  to  these 
questions.  A  summary  of  results  on  the  principal 
points,  together  with  the  quotation  of  a  few  indi- 
vidual opinions  and  suggestions  will  be  sufficient. 

"Of  the  one  hundred  and  thirty  colleges  reply- 
ing to  my  inquiries,  thirty-three  report  that  they 
have  no  fraternities,  but  that  they  are  not  pro- 
hibited, and  express  no  opinion  concerning  them. 
Twenty-one  have  none — do  not  formally  prohibit, 
bul/  express  unfavorable  opinions  of  the  fraterni- 

173 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ties;  twenty  have  them,  but  consider  them  a  dis- 
advantage; twenty-seven  have  them,  and  consider 
them  an  advantage;  one  has  none,  but  expresses  a 
desire  for  their  organization.  Summarizing  sim- 
ply with  reference  to  the  favorable  or  unfavorable 
estimate  of  the  fraternities,  not  taking  account  of 
the  thirty-three  that  do  not  have  them,  eighty-five 
report  as  opposed  to  them,  while  twenty-eight  re- 
gard them  with  favor.  It  thus  appears  that,  com- 
paring for  and  against,  the  proportion  is  three  to 
one  against. 

"The  complaints  against  the  fraternities  specify 
that  they  produce  clannishness ;  that  they  give  rise 
to  unnatural  divisions  among  students;  that  they 
interfere  with  the  work  of  the  literary  societies ; 
that  they  add  bitterness  to  college  politics;  that 
they  are  the  occasion  of  burdensome  expense  to 
their  members;  that  they  encourage  extravagance 
and  dissipation;  that  they  are  organized  upon  a 
social  rather  than  a  scholastic  basis ;  that  they  are 
frequently  places  of  refuge  and  rocks  of  defense 
for  evil-doers;  that  they  absorb  time  and  energy 
that  the  student  should  give  to  his  regular  work; 
that  they  tend  to  cause  students  to  regard  college 
as  a  place  of  amusement  rather  than  work,  and 
that  on  account  of  unnatural  factions  which  they 
create,  and  the  strife  and  bitterness  which  they 
engender,  they  seriously  interfere  with  the  moral 
and  religious  growth  of  students.  A  few  quota- 
tions from  the  responses  which  I  am  permitted  to 
use  will  show  the  character  of  this  adverse  judg- 
ment. The  president  of  x^drian  College  says:  'I 
see  no  advantage  that  justifies  the  expenditure  of 

174 


Literary  Societies  Formed 

time  and  means.  The  danger  of  their  being  per- 
verted to  a  bad  use  is  always  great'  The  pres- 
ident of  Lake  Forest  says :  'They  destroy  the  very 
valuable  literary  societies,  stratify  the  social  life 
on  artificial  lines  rather  than  by  natural  affinities, 
provoke  unfriendly  rivalries,  and  tend  to  dissipa- 
tion.' The  president  of  Trinity  College,  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  says:  'The  influence  of  clique 
overbalances  the  benefit  of  association;  they  sub- 
stitute the  standard  of  party  for  moral  considera- 
tions.' The  president  of  Brown  University  says: 
'If  they  were  not  here  I  should  use  my  influence 
against  their  establishment.  Several  of  the  fra- 
ternities are  a  positive  help,  but  if  you  permit 
these  you  must  the  others,  and  a  few  are  of  such  a 
character  as  to  be  an  evil.  The  system  with  us  has, 
perhaps,  a  slight  preponderance  of  good  as  com- 
pared with  no  societies  at  all,  but  a  large  pre- 
ponderance of  evil  as  compared  with  the  old  debat- 
ing societies.' 

"Without  naming  the  sources,  I  add  the  follow- 
ing expressions :  'Artificial  associations  become  or- 
ganic on  the  principle  of  secrecy,  corrupt  good 
morals.'  'They  engender  strife  and  immoral  in- 
trigues.' 'They  engender  a  spirit  of  strife,  and  in 
cases  known,  students  have  degenerated  as  soon  as 
they  have  joined  them.'  'They  are  evil,  only  evil, 
and  that  continually.' 

"Of  the  institutions  reporting  favorably  for  the 
fraternities,  I  do  not  find  many  specific  points  of 
advantage  mentioned,  but  for  the  most  part  a  gen- 
eral, and  in  some  cases  a  reserved  favorable  ex- 
pression.    Of  the  advantages  suggested,  however, 

175 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

are  the  following:  The  cultivation  of  college 
spirit;  a  stimiilns  to  scholarship  as  a  condition  to 
membership  in  them;  their  social  pleasures  and 
benefits,  and  the  post-graduate  bonds  whi^ch  they 
establish ;  a  general  inspiration  to  honest  work,  and 
manly  conduct  in  the  case  of  societies  that  take  in 
only  the  best  men ;  and  in  some  cases  a  direct  and 
indirect  help  in  matters  of  discipline. 

"With  regard  to  the  methods  pursued  by  those 
institutions  that  prohibit  them,  in  some  cases  they 
are  excluded  by  charter;  in  some  they  have  been 
abolished  by  the  trustees  or  by  the  faculty ;  in  oth- 
ers they  are  kept  out  by  the  moral  influence  and 
advice  of  the  faculty.  In  a  few  cases  a  pledge  not 
to  join  a  secret  society  is  a  condition  of  entrance; 
and  in  the  case  of  the  University  of  Illinois,  a 
double  pledge  is  required  to  be  signed  by  the  stu- 
dent— one  on  his  entrance  that  he  will  not  connect 
himself  with  a  secret  society,  and  another  on  his 
graduation,  or  dismissal,  that  during  the  time  that 
he  has  been  in  the  institution  he  has  not  been  con- 
nected with  such  a  society.  All  schools  testifying 
that  fraternities  had  been  abolished  testify  that 
the  abolition  had  been  made  effective." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  from  the  above  concensus 
of  opinion  gathered  from  the  presidents  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  different  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, that  the  preponderance  of  judgment  is  de- 
cidedly against  fraternities.  Otterbein  University 
never  having  had  fraternities,  is  not  qualified,  ex- 
cept in  a  negative  way,  to  judge  as  to  their  influ- 
ence, but  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  institu- 
tion, for  the  past  sixty  years,  has  been  remarkably 

176 


JOHN  HAYW()01>,  LL.  1>. 

Professor  of  Mathematics,  and  Uonnected  with  tlie 
College  for  over  Half  u  Century 


-"Ofe 


W  S      i 


r 


fp  T^W^ 


THOMAS  McFADDEN,  M.  D. 
Professor  of  Natural  Science  for  Twenty-two  Years 


Literary  Societies  Formed 

free  from  the  evils  attributed  to  fraternities  in  the 
concensus,  while  there  has  been  no  lack  of  the  good 
things  attributed  to  them,  which  shows  that  they 
may  be  had  without  them. 


12  177 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Progress  of  the  Work  of  the  University  Since  1860 — Some 
Account  of  Those  Who  Shared  in  It. 

This  is,  in  some  respects,  a  difficult  chapter  to 
write,  not  because  there  is  a  scarcity  of  material, 
but,  rather,  because  there  is  such  an  abundance 
that  much  must  be  omitted,  and  the  task  of  selec- 
tion is  somewhat  delicate  as  well  as  difficult.  It 
will  hardly  do  to  speak  only  of  the  labors  and 
achievements  of  those  who  have  passed  away  or 
have  finished  their  work  with  the  university;  for 
some  yet  living  and  at  work  have  done  so  much  to 
make  the  history  of  the  university,  that  its  omis- 
sion would  greatly  impair  the  value  of  the  narra- 
tive. The  author,  therefore,  expects  to  exercise 
his  judgment  as  impartially  as  possible,  freely 
admitting  that  he  will,  perhaps,  omit  much  that 
some  readers  will  regard  more  important  than 
some  of  the  things  given.  Some,  too,  have  labored 
so  effectively,  both  in  the  properly  educational 
work  of  the  university  and  also  in  the  promotion 
of  the  material  interests  of  the  institution,  that 
their  services  cannot  well  be  separately  presented, 
so  there  will  be  no  hesitation  to  present  both  to- 
gether, grouping  events  somewhat  around  presi- 
dential administrations. 

In  most  cases,  perhaps,  enough  has  been  said  in 
previous  chapters  concerning  the  work  and  workers 
during  what  has  been  described  as  the  pioneer 

178 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

period  of  the  university,  extending  from.  1847  to 
1860 ;  but  the  labors  of  some  have  been  so  conspic- 
uous on  the  hither  side  of  the  line  that  some  fur- 
ther account  of  them  should  be  given. 

LATER  ADMINISTRATION  OF  PRESIDENT  DAVIS. 

In  1860,  Rev.  L.  Davis,  who,  on  his  election  for 
a  second  term  as  a  bishop,  had  retired  from  the 
presidency  in  1857,  was  again  elected  president, 
nearly  a  year  before  his  term  as  bishop  had  ex- 
pired. In  this  selection  the  trustees  acted  more 
wisely  than,  at  the  time,  they  knew,  for  while  there 
was  great  political  excitement  throughout  the 
country,  yet  no  one  could  then  certainly  foresee 
the  great  War  of  the  Rebellion,  which  burst  upon 
the  country  in  1861.  It  was  indeed  most  fortu- 
nate that  a  man  of  such  experience,  courage,  and 
ability  was  called  to  the  head  of  the  institution 
and  guided  its  affairs  during  the  trying  period  of 
the  war  and  the  troublous  years  immediately  fol- 
lowing. While  no  great  progress  was  made  or  even 
attempted  during  the  war,  it  was  no  slight  task, 
when  so  many  of  the  students  had  gone  to  the  field 
or  were  called  home  to  take  the  places  of  their 
fathers  and  brothers  who  had  gone,  simply  to  main- 
tain the  institution  and  prevent  its  serious  decline 
and  perhaps  failure.  Promptly  after  the  close  of 
the  war  in  1865,  the  board  of  trustees  resolved  to 
ask  the  Church  in  the  cooperating  territory  for 
$60,000  endowment,  not  in  scholarships,  but  in 
cash  and  pledges  of  money.  The  responsibility  of 
soliciting  this  endowment  was  placed  in  chief  upon 
President  Davis,  and,  very  largely,  through  his 

179 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

efforts  it  was  carried  througli  to  success,  though  it 
required  until  1870  to  accomplish  it.  The  citizens 
of  Westerville  led  in  the  effort,  contributing  in 
cash  and  pledges  the  sum  of  $10,000  toward  the 
endowment  of  what  has  ever  since  been  known  as 
the  Westerville  chair.  In  recognition  of  the  very 
valuable  services  of  President  Davis  in  securing 
the  $60,000  endowment,  the  professorship  of  men- 
tal and  moral  science,  held  at  the  time  by  Presi- 
dent Davis,  was  designated  as  the  Westerville 
chair.  The  Dresbach  and  Flickinger  chairs  were 
also  established  in  this  effort.  It  had  been  agreed 
that  any  individual  or  family  contributing  five  or 
more  thousand  dollars  should  have  the  privilege  of 
naming  the  chair  to  which  it  should  be  applied. 
Jonathan  Dresbach,  one  of  the  three  original  trus- 
tees (Rev.  L.  Davis  and  Rev.  Wm.  Hanby  being 
the  other  two) ,  a  warm  friend  and  supporter  of  the 
institution,  contributed  $5,000,  and  the  professor- 
ship of  mathematics  has  since  been  known  as  the 
Dresbach  chair.  The  gift  of  Mr.  Dresbach  was,  at 
the  time,  the  largest  single  gift  that  had  ever  come 
to  the  university.  The  Flickinger  chair  was  a 
family  affair.  Rev.  D.  K.  Flickinger,  with  his 
brothers  Jacob  and  Samuel,  each  contributed 
$1,100,  and  other  members  of  the  family,  residing 
mostly  in  the  bounds  of  the  Miami  Conference, 
brought  the  aggregate  up  to  $5,000,  and  the  name 
Flickinger  chair  has  since  been  attached  to  the 
Latin  professorship.  To  Rev.  D.  K.  Flickinger, 
before  and  since  so  widely  known  in  the  Church 
as  missionary  to  Africa,  as  General  Missionary 
Secretary,  and  bishop,  the  credit  for  the  Flickinger 

180 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

chair  is  largely  due.  Besides  his  own  contribution, 
he  gratuitously  gave  the  time  and  performed  the 
labor  necessary  to  enlist  the  members  of  the  family 
and  carry  the  effort  to  success.  Ex-Bishop  Flick- 
inger  is  still  living,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years,  at  Indianapolis,  Ind. 

President  Davis  often  spoke  of  the  success  of  the 
effort  to  secure  this  $60,000  endowment  for  the 
university  with  great  satisfaction.  He  regarded 
the  part  he  bore  in  the  effort  as  among  the  most 
important  services  he  ever  rendered  in  promoting 
the  material  interests  of  the  university. 

In  18Y0,  the  same  year  in  which  the  endowment 
effort  was  crowned  with  success,  an  event  occurred 
which  again  brought  the  courage  and  ability  of 
the  president  into  play.  At  about  2  a.m.,  Jan- 
uary 26,  1870,  the  massive  main  college-building, 
which  stood  on  the  northeast  comer  of  the  campus, 
was  discovered  to  be  on  fire.  In  a  very  short  time 
the  entire  structure,  containing  recitation-rooms, 
three  elegantly  furnished  literary  halls,  a  commo- 
dious chapel,  the  college  library,  including  a  copy 
of  the  Sinaitic  manuscript  of  priceless  value,  and 
laboratory,  was  entirely  destroyed,  inflicting  a  loss 
of  over  $40,000  upon  the  university,  relieved  by 
an  insurance  of  $20,000.  It  was  a  time  of  great 
gloom  to  the  friends  of  the  university.  President 
Davis  measured  up  to  the  demands  of  the  occasion, 
as  he  had  so  often  done  before.  At  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  while  it  was  yet  dark,  and  while  the 
ruined  building  was  still  a  glowing  and  smoking 
mass,  he  called  the  faculty  into  session  in  his 
home,  the  present  conservatory  building,  and,  after 

181 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

setting  forth  the  importance  of  maintaining  the 
work  of  the  university  with  the  least  possible  in- 
terruption, places  for  recitations  were  agreed  upon 
— in  the  white  chapel  building,  in  Saum  Hall,  in 
the  ladies'  hall,  and,  temporarily,  in  the  homes  of 
the  professors.  In  a  short  time  the  work  was  in 
regular  operation  again,  and  was  fairly  well 
maintained  until  the  close  of  the  college  year. 

The  board  of  trustees  was  called  to  meet  in 
special  session,  February  16,  1870.  When  it  met, 
a  motion  was  made  and  carried  to  open  the  ques- 
tion of  location  and  offer  the  university  to  the 
community  in  Ohio  which  should,  at  the  ensuing 
regular  session  to  convene  May  27,  offer  the  best 
inducements.  Before  adjourning,  the  board  in- 
structed the  general  agent  to  apply  the  $20,000 
insurance  money  to  the  payment  of  indebtedness. 

When  the  board  met  in  regular  annual  session  in 
May,  a  proposition  was  presented  from  Dayton, 
Ohio,  offering  $65,000  in  money  and  real  estate 
for  the  location  of  the  university  in  or  near  that 
city,  and  a  proposition  from  Westerville,  offering 
$37,000  in  money  for  its  continued  location  in 
that  town.  After  an  earnest  discussion  and  the  de- 
feat of  a  motion  to  extend  the  time  for  competi- 
tion, a  motion  was  made  to  accept  the  proposition 
from  Westerville,  which  was  carried  by  a  yea  and 
nay  vote  of  seventeen  to  three.  An  error 
by  duplication  of  entry  in  subscription  list 
was  later  discovered,  which  left  but  $35,000 
with  which  to  replace  the  destroyed  build- 
ing. As,  however,  the  burned  building  had 
very  massive  walls,  it  supplied  the  material  for 

182 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

the  interior,  and  largely  for  tlie  exterior  walls  of 
the  new  building.  This,  with  the  further  fact  that 
the  erection  of  the  building  was  let  on  a  competi- 
tive bid,  which  proved  more  advantageous  to  the 
university  than  to  the  contractor,  explains  how  a 
building  so  much  superior  to  the  one  destroyed, 
and  which  has  so  well  served  the  purposes  of  the 
university  for  the  past  thirty-six  years,  could  be 
erected  with  the  money  available  for  the  purpose. 
Some  who  were  familiar  with  the  building  de- 
stroyed, with  its  smoky  recitation-rooms,  its  huge 
and  uncomfortable  auditorium,  occupying  the  en- 
tire upper  story  reached  by  flights  of  stairs,  have 
been  inclined,  in  spite  of  the  heavy  loss,  to  regard 
its  destruction  a  blessing  in  disguise.  It  could 
scarcely  have  been  remodeled,  certainly  not  with- 
out a  very  heavy  outlay,  in  a  way  to  render  it 
sightly  and  adapted  to  the  uses  of  the  university. 
The  partial  destruction  of  Saum  Hall,  some  years 
later,  was  the  only  other  fire  loss  of  the  university 
in  the  past  sixty  years. 

It  was  in  soliciting  the  $35,000  used  in  erecting 
the  present  main  building  that  President  Davis 
rendered  his  last  signal  service  for  the  university 
before  his  call  to  a  professorship  in  Union  Biblical 
Seminary  in  1871.  President  Davis  was  the  in- 
spiring and  guiding  spirit  of  the  effort.  ISText  in 
extent  and  importance  were  the  efforts  of  Rev.  J. 
B.  Resler,  while  Rev.  Levi  Moore  and  Rev.  J.  M. 
Spangler,  all  agents  at  the  time,  gave  valuable  aid, 
and  a  number  of  volunteer  workers,  who  served 
without  pay,  joined  in  giving  success  to  the  effort. 

The  interest  of  Doctor  Davis  in  the  fortunes  of 

183 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Otterbein  University,  after  his  departure  to  Union 
Biblical  Seminary,  did  not  abate.  As  a  trustee,  a 
relation  in  whieli  be  continued  to  1889,  the  year 
preceding  bis  deatb,  by  bis  wise  counsels  be  was 
very  useful  in  tbe  deliberations  of  tbe  board.  In 
1888  be  manifested  bis  continued  interest  by  a  gift 
of  $500,  the  last  be  lived  to  bestow.  Among  the 
last  acts  by  which  the  board  of  trustees  expressed 
its  appreciation  of  his  great  services  for  the  uni- 
versity, were  his  election  to  the  position  of  profes- 
sor emeritus  and  the  change  of  the  name  of  the 
musical  conservatory  to  Davis  Conservatory  of 
Music.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Dayton,  Ohio, 
March  23,  1890,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years, 
rive  years  later  his  widow  ("Aunt  Beckey")  was 
borne  to  her  burial  from  the  same  home. 

Thomas  McFadden,  M.D.,  began  his  service  as 
a  professor  in  Otterbein  University  in  1858,  and, 
therefore,  served  for  several  years  in  what  is  de- 
scribed in  a  previous  chapter  as  the  pioneer  period, 
extending  to  1860.  Professor  McFadden  was  edu- 
cated at  Dickinson  College,  in  Pennsylvania,  hav- 
ing previously  attended  an  academy  at  Augusta, 
Kentucky.  When  he  first  came  to  the  university 
the  manual-labor  controversy,  described  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  was  at  its  height,  and  tbe  style  of  his 
professorship  was  that  of  the  natural  sciences  and 
scientific  agriculture  and  horticulture.  He  labored 
faithfully,  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  professor 
of  the  natural  sciences,  to  make  the  manual-labor 
department,  as  it  was  called,  useful  to  tbe  univer- 
sity and  helpful  to  the  students.  This  was  a  great 
task,  hindered  and  embarrassed  as  he  was  by  lack 

184 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

of  means.  In  1862  lie  resigned  and  entered  the 
Union  Army  as  surgeon  of  the  Forty-sixth  Ohio 
Kegiment,  and  later  served  as  post  surgeon  at 
Camp  Chase,  Columbus,  Ohio.  In  1866  he  was 
again  chosen,  this  time  simply  as  professor  of  the 
natural  sciences,  the  manual-labor  department 
having  disappeared.  He  served  in  this  position 
with  great  efficiency  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
!N'ovember  9,  1883,  the  entire  period  of  his  service 
covering  twenty-two  years.  Retiring  in  disposi- 
tion and  modest  in  his  bearing  almost  to  a  fault, 
he  never  failed  to  win  the  admiration  and  love  of 
young  people  who  were  privileged  to  sit  under  his 
instruction.  He  was  intolerant  of  shams  and  care- 
less and  slovenly  work.  He  was  annoyed  by  the 
inadequate  equipment  of  his  department,  and 
brought  such  pressure  to  bear  that  the  board  of 
trustees,  at  its  session  in  1875,  appropriated  three, 
thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  apparatus  and 
appliances  for  his  department.  At  the  same  time 
the  board  appointed  him  the  agent  to  make  the 
purchases,  either  in  Europe  or  America.  In  order 
to  secure  the  most  and  the  best  that  the  money 
would  buy.  Professor  McFadden  went  to  England 
and  largely  made  the  purchases  there.  ITever  a 
man  of  rugged  health,  he  yet  never  spared  himself, 
but  performed  a  prodigious  amount  of  work,  pos- 
sibly shortening  his  life  by  his  close  devotion  to 
the  labors  of  his  position.  Besides  the  heavy  labors 
of  his  professorship,  he  served  gratuitously  six 
years  as  librarian,  four  years  as  treasurer,  and 
seven  years  as  member  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  university.    Abandoning  his  profession  as 

185 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

a  physician,  in  which  he  had  great  skill  and  had 
gained  an  enviable  reputation,  he  began  service  in 
the  university  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  in  the  full 
maturity  of  his  powders,  and  here  performed  the 
great  work  of  his  life.  A  few,  in  the  past  sixty 
years,  have  served  the  university  for  longer 
periods  of  time,  but  none  with  greater  faithfulness 
and  ability. 

In  1862,  upon  the  retirement  of  Miss  Mary  L. 
Gilbert  as  principal  of  the  ladies'  department, 
after  serving  very  efficiently  for  six  years,  Mrs. 
Lizzie  K.  Miller,  who  had  gone  forth  as  a  graduate 
of  the  university  with  the  second  class  in  1858, 
succeeded  to  the  position.  She,  with  Professors 
Samuel  B.  Allen  and  John  E.  Guitner,  who  began 
service  at  the  same  time,  were  the  first  gi*aduates 
of  the  university  to  become  members  of  its  fac- 
ulty, and  from  that  day  to  the  present  there  have 
always  been  some  of  its  sons  and  daughters,  and 
usually  they  have  been  in  the  majority,  in  its  fac- 
ulty. Mrs.  Miller  sensed — except  two  intervals  of 
a  year  each,  during  the  first  of  which,  1863-64, 
Miss  Melissa  A.  Haynie,  and  during  the  second  of 
which,  1869-70,  Miss  Clara  Leib,  both  graduates 
of  the  university,  served — from  1862  to  1875,  a 
period  of  eleven  years,  the  longest  term  of  any  lady 
principal  in  the  past  sixty  years.  Her  high  char- 
acter, fine  culture,  and  attractive  personal  graces 
fitted  her  admirably  for  the  position.  She  wrought 
a  good  and  successful  work  as  a  teacher,  and  espe- 
cially as  a  wise  counselor  and  friend  of  the  large 
number  of  young  lady  students  who  came  under 
her  care,  who  will  ever  hold  her  in  grateful  remem- 

186 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

brance.  She  retired  in  1875  in  order  to  care  for 
her  then  aged  parents,  and  in  1887  was  chosen 
president  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Association 
of  the  United  Brethren  Church,  and  at  the  same 
time  associate  editor  and  later  editor-in-chief  of 
the  Woman  s  Evangel,  organ  of  the  society,  in 
which  positions  she  served  for  eighteen  years,  re- 
tiring in  1905.  She  is  still  living  in  Dayton,  Ohio, 
esteemed  and  honored  throughout  the  Church  for 
the  great  service  she  has  rendered. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Mrs.  Miller  in  1875, 
Mrs.  Melissa  H.  Fisher,  the  same  as  Miss  Melissa 
A.  Haynie  above  mentioned,  of  the  class  of  1858, 
succeeded  her.  She  served  with  faithfulness,  abil- 
ity, and  success,  retiring  in  1881,  after  a  term  of 
seven  years.  She  entered  the  faculty  the  second 
time  with  the  ripe  experience  gained  by  four 
years'  service  in  the  public  schools,  followed  by 
one  year  in  the  university,  four  years  in  Frank- 
lin College,  Indiana,  and  five  years  in  Westfield 
College,  Illinois.  After  retiring  from  the  faculty 
of  Otterbein  University,  she  served  as  acting 
librarian  of  the  ITevada  State  Library  and  as 
proof-reader  in  the  United  Brethren  Publishing 
House,  Dayton,  Ohio.  For  a  number  of  years  she 
has  been  a  resident  of  Westerville,  an  interested 
observer  of  the  growth  and  progress  of  her  alma 
mater,  to  which  she  gave  seven  of  the  best  of  her 
twenty  years'  service  as  a  teacher. 

Miss  Josephine  Johnson,  a  graduate  of  Western 
(now  Leander  Clark)  College,  Iowa,  class  of  1877, 
and  in  whose  faculty  she  had  served  for  two  years, 
was  chosen  as  the  successor  of  Mrs.  Fisher  in  1881. 

187 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

After  serving  for  four  years  as  principal  of  the 
ladies'  department,  she  spent  a  year  at  study  in 
Germany,  and  returned  in  1886  as  professor  of 
modern  languages,  serving  until  1890,  when  she 
visited  Europe  for  further  study.  On  her  return, 
after  serving  two  years  in  Western  College,  she 
was  elected  to  the  chair  of  modern  languages  in 
Otterbein  University,  and  continued  in  active  ser- 
vice until  1902.  Her  active  service  in  the  faculty 
of  Otterbein  University,  therefore,  extends  over  a 
period  of  sixteen  years,  which  is  the  record  period 
for  a  lady  teacher  in  a  regular  department  of  the 
university.  To  speak  of  her  service  would  be  but 
to  repeat  substantially  what  has  been  said  of  her 
predecessors.  She  is  a  resident  of  Westerville,  and 
deeply  interested  in  everything  that  pertains  to  the 
welfare  of  the  university. 

Other  ladies  who  have  served  as  principals  of 
the  ladies'  department  are:  Mrs.  J.  E.  Lehman, 
Mrs.  Kate  Hanby,  of  the  first  class,  1857;  Miss 
Emma  M.  Linton,  Miss  Emma  E.  Burtner,  of  the 
class  of  1884 ;  and  last  in  the  list  of  lady  princi- 
pals. Miss  Tirza  L.  Barnes,  of  the  class  of  1885. 
These  served  but  one  year,  except  Miss  Linton,  who 
served  two,  and  Miss  Barnes,  who  served  eight 
years.  They  well  maintained  the  high  level  of  ef- 
ficiency established  by  the  noble  corps  of  teachers 
who  preceded  them.  Miss  Barnes  closing  the  list; 
and  at  the  expiration  of  her  term  of  service,  in 
1898,  Saum  Ladies'  Hall  was  remodeled  into 
Saum  Science  Hall,  and  the  position  of  lady  prin- 
cipal was  discontinued.  Miss  Barnes,  ever  since 
her  retirement  from  the  lady  principalship,  has 

188 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

served  the  university  as  librarian.  Giving  her 
whole  time  to  this  position,  she  has  developed  it 
into  a  measure  of  useful  service  quite  impossible 
■where  only  a  limited  portion  of  time  is  given  to  its 
duties. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  ladies  who  served  as 
principals  in  the  faculty  of  the  university,  while 
they  carried  the  full  responsibility  of  teachers  in 
relation  to  the  students  generally,  and,  as  a  rule, 
had  more  gentlemen  than  ladies  in  their  classes, 
yet   stood    in   unique   relation   to   the   lady    stu- 
dents, especially  those  who  were  from  abroad  and 
occupied  the  ladies'  hall.     They  were  a  kind  of 
vice-presidents,     and    shared     in    administrative 
duties,  so  far  as  the  lady  students  were  concerned, 
and  had  much  to  do  with  the  good  order  which  has 
so  generally  characterized  the  university.     They 
served  as  the  confidants,  friends,  and  advisers  of 
the  lady  students,  and  so  touched  their  lives  more 
closely  than  other  teachers.    It  was  theirs  not  sim- 
ply to  aid  in  the  development  of  these  girl  stu- 
dents into  accomplished  scholars,  but  it  was  pe- 
culiarly theirs  to  aid  in  molding  their  character, 
and  in  cultivating  them  in  the  social  graces  which 
have  so  much  to  do  with  the  comfort  and  success 
of  life.    Otterbein  University  has  been  very  fortu- 
nate in  the  high  character  and  ability  of  the  ladies 
who  have  served  as  principals  of  its  ladies'  de- 
partment. 

Ladies  who  served  in  the  faculty  as  instructors 
and  professors,  not  before  mentioned,  are:  In- 
structors— Mrs.  Miram  M.  Cole,  English  Litera- 
ture, 1873-74 ;  Miss  Cora  A.  McFadden,  English, 

189 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

1883-84;  Miss  Lela  Guitner,  English,  1892-93; 
Miss  Emma  Guitner,  Greek,  1900-01 ;  Miss  Bertha 
S.  Flick,  French,  1903-05 ;  with  the  present  in- 
cumbent, Miss  Alma  Guitner,  professor  of  the 
German  language  and  literature,  and  Miss  Sarah 
M.  Sherrick,  professor  of  English  language  and  lit- 
erature. These  are  the  ladies  who  have  main- 
tained the  ladies'  part  of  coeducation  in  the  fac- 
ulty of  the  university  for  the  past  sixty  years,  as 
it  has  always  been  maintained  in  the  student  body. 

In  1862  John  E.  Guitner,  of  the  class  of  1860, 
became  a  member  of  the  faculty,  first  as  instructor, 
then  as  adjunct  professor  of  ancient  languages, 
then,  in  1865,  professor  of  Latin,  and  in  1867 
again  of  ancient  languages,  and  finally,  in  1869, 
of  the  Greek  language  and  literature,  which  he 
continued  to  teach  with  great  ability  and  success 
until  the  time  of  his  death,  September  28,  1900,  a 
period  of  thirty-one  years,  making  the  entire  term 
of  his  service  in  the  faculty  over  thirty-eight  years, 
which  is  the  record  period  in  the  past  sixty  years. 

The  death  of  Professor  Guitner  was  only  the 
second  of  a  professor  in  active  service  in  a  regular 
college  department  in  the  past  sixty  years,  that  of 
Professor  Thomas  McFadden  being  the  first, 
which  is  a  little  remarkable  when  the  number  of 
long  terms  of  service  is  considered.  The  career  of 
Professor  Guitner  is  unique  in  this,  that  his  entire 
life  work  was  performed  in  Otterbein  University. 
He  never  taught  anywhere  else.  He  entered  the 
faculty  when  he  was  only  twenty-one  years  old, 
and  continued  in  service  until  almost  the  day  of 
his  death.     He  was  a  painstaking  and  thorough- 

190 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

going  student,  an  accurate,  capable,  and  efficient 
teacher.  In  his  favorite  field,  the  Greek,  he  was  a 
master  and  specialist,  not  satisfied  with  mere  gen- 
eral knowledge,  however  great,  but  eager  to  know 
to  the  least  detail  all  that  could  be  learned.  He  was 
a  progressive  scholar,  not  satisfied  with  past  at- 
tainments, and  kept  well  abreast  of  the  times, 
pressing  on  toward  the  limits  of  knowledge  as  far 
as  he  could;  hence  he  never  became  what  is 
styled  a  back  number,  but  his  latest  work  was  his 
richest  and  best.  No  one  in  the  past  sixty  years 
has  made  a  more  solid  and  valuable  contribution 
to  the  work  of  Otterbein  University. 

ADMINISTKATIOJSr    OF    PEES.    H.    A.    THOMPSON^    D.D. 

In  1862,  the  year  in  which  Professor  Guitner 
began  his  service,  there  came  to  the  faculty  an- 
other teacher  destined  to  perform  here  the  great 
service  of  his  life.  Henry  Adams  Thompson,  a 
graduate  of  Jefferson  (now  Washington  and  Jef- 
ferson) College,  Pennsylvania,  class  of  1858.  He 
had  also  studied  two  years  in  Western  Theological 
Seminary,  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania.  He  had 
served  one  year  as  professor  of  mathematics  in 
Western  College,  Iowa,  when  called  to  Otterbein 
University,  first  for  four  years  as  professor  of  nat- 
ural science  and  mathematics,  followed  by  one  year 
as  professor  of  mathematics,  retiring  in  1867. 
After  serving  four  years  as  superintendent  of 
schools  in  Troy,  Ohio,  and  one  year  as  professor  of 
mathematics  in  Westfield  College,  Illinois,  he  was 
elected  president  of  Otterbein  University  in  1872, 

191 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

in  which  position  he  served  until  1886,  a  period  of 
fourteen  years,  the  record  period  for  continuous 
service  as  president  in  the  past  sixty  years,  fol- 
lowed by  one  year  as  professor  of  logic  and 
rhetoric,  altogether  a  period  of  twenty  years,  in 
the  prime  and  vigor  of  his  life.  When  President 
Davis  retired  in  18Y1,  the  board  of  trustees 
elected  Eev.  Daniel  Eberly,  of  the  class  of  1858, 
his  successor.  Mr.  Eberly  being  principal  of  Cot- 
tage Hill  College,  a  girls'  school,  at  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, did  not  enter  upon  the  duties  of  presi- 
dent, but  maintained  a  merely  nominal  relation 
until  commencement,  when  he  delivered  the  bac- 
calaureate discourse  and  performed  the  functions 
of  the  president  in  graduating  the  class  of  1872, 
and  then  resigned.  So  far  as  active  service,  there- 
fore, is  concerned,  President  Thompson  was  really 
the  successor  of  President  Davis.  He  was  a  man 
devoted  to  books  and  to  study,  and  spent  a  larger 
proportion  of  his  time  in  the  class-room  as  a 
teacher  than  any  president  before  or  since,  except 
President  Scott.  While  he  frequently  went  out 
into  the  field  delivering  educational  addresses,  and 
calling  the  attention  of  the  Church  and  the  public 
generally  to  the  work  of  the  university  more  ex- 
tensively than  had  ever  been  done  before,  his  con- 
ception of  the  duties  of  the  president  of  a  college 
seemed  to  be  to  give  attention  chiefly  to  the  promo- 
tion of  scholarship  by  his  labors  in  the  study  and 
the  class-room.  It  seemed  to  be  his  conception 
that  the  promotion  of  the  material  interests  of  the 
university  belonged  to  the  financial  agents,  while 


192 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

it  was  the  province  of  the  president  to  advance  the 
intellectual  and  properly  educational  work. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  successfully  contradict 
this  conception  of  the  work  of  a  college  president, 
but  it  is  well  known  that  a  very  different  concep- 
tion has  gained  wide  sway,  not  as  a  conviction,  but 
as  a  perhaps  unavoidable  fact.  In  the  case  of  our 
State  institutions,  it  would  almost  seem  that  the 
fame  of  the  president  depends  not  so  much  upon 
his  broad  and  generous  scholarship,  as  upon  his 
skill  and  success  as  a  lobbyist  in  securing  from  the 
State  legislature  favorable  laws  and  liberal  appro- 
priations. In  tlie  case  of  our  Church  colleges,  the 
demand  seems  not  so  much  to  be  for  the  thorough 
and  accomplished  scholar,  whose  presence  at  the 
head  of  the  institution  will  stimulate  and  guide 
students  to  the  utmost  intellectual  development  and 
achievement,  as  for  a  hustling  canvasser,  who  can 
secure  large  gifts  of  money.  Most  fortunate  are 
those  colleges  whose  material  needs  are  so  well 
supplied  that  their  presidents  need  not  serve  tables, 
as  it  were,  and  traverse  the  country  as  financial 
agents,  but  can  devote  themselves  exclusively  to 
the  administrative  and  properly  educational  work 
of  the  institution  over  which  they  preside.  Since, 
however,  it  is  the  exception  and  not  the  rule,  espe- 
cially for  Christian  colleges  supported  by  the 
Church,  to  be  in  such  a  prosperous  condition  in 
their  material  resources,  it  is  very  fortunate  that 
there  are  scholarly  men  who  are  willing  to  make 
the  sacrifice  and  turn  aside  from  the  directly  edu- 
cational work  and  give  themselves  to  the  far  less 
attractive  work  of  pressing  the  claims  of  their  in- 

13  193 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

stitutions  for  material  support.  But  for  the  suc- 
cessful labors  of  such  men,  the  failure  of  some  of 
the  most  useful  of  the  colleges  of  our  State  and 
country  would  seem  to  have  been  inevitable. 

When  President  Thompson  began  his  adminis- 
tration there  vi^as  an  effort  in  progress  to  unify  and 
improve  the  work  of  Ohio  colleges.  The  occasion 
for  such  effort  was  the  fact  thati  among  the  more 
than  thirty  institutions  in  the  State  bearing  the 
name  of  college  or  university,  there  were  some 
which  were  conferring  regular  college  degrees  for 
courses  of  study  which  were  greatly  deficient,  thus 
cheapening  these  degrees,  and  bringing  great  re- 
proach upon  the  work  of  higher  education.  The 
effort  to  elevate  and  render  uniform  the  standard 
of  Ohio  colleges  was  undertaken  by  the  Association 
of  Ohio  Colleges,  which  was  organized  in  1867,  of 
which  Otterbein  University  early  became,  and  has 
ever  since  continued  a  member.  At  first  there  was 
no  standard  of  membership,  but  the  presidents  and 
professors  of  any  institution  in  the  State  calling 
itself  a  college  were  welcomed.  This  was  not  sat- 
isfactory to  the  better  class  of  colleges,  and  early 
attention  was  given  to  fix  a  minimum  standard  of 
requirement  for  college  degrees,  the  aim  being  to 
make  these  requirements  equal  in  the  time  and 
quality  of  work  required.  A  standard  was  agreed 
upon  and  adopted  in  1877,  and  it  was  also  noted 
that  conformity  to  this  standard  should  be  made  a 
cx)ndition  of  membership  in  the  association.  A 
committee  was  appointed  to  make  an  examination 
(►f  the  colleges  and  report  at  the  ensuing  meeting 
what  colleges  fairly  conformed  to  the  standard. 

194 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

This  committee  reported  the  following  fifteen  col- 
leges, named  in  the  order  of  their  charters,  as 
meeting  the  condition  of  membership :  Ohio  Uni- 
versity, 1804;  Kenyon  College,  1824;  Western  Re- 
serve College,  1826 ;  Denison  University,  1831 ; 
Oberlin  College,  1834 ;  Marietta  College,  1835 ; 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  1842 ;  St.  Xavier's 
College,  1842;  Otterbein  University,  1847; 
Antioch  College,  1852 ;  Baldwin  University, 
1856;  Hiram  College,  1867;  University  of  Woos- 
ter,  1870;  University  of  Cincinnati,  1870;  Ohio 
State  University,  1870. 

This  report  was  adopted,  and  at  subsequent 
meetings  three  other  colleges  were  received  into 
membership,  Wittenberg  College,  Miami  Univer- 
sity, and  Buchtel  College. 

Otterbein  University  cannot  claim  to  have  led 
in  this  very  useful  effort  to  elevate  the  standard  of 
Ohio  colleges,  but  it  joined  heartily  in  it,  and  kept 
well  abreast  of  the  movement,  a  matter  of  no  little 
difficulty  because  of  limited  resources. 

ISTothing  brought  greater  credit  to  the  university 
while  Mr.  Thompson  was  president  than  the  im- 
provement in  college  work  which  it  helped  to  pro- 
mote, and  in  which  it  shared.  The  Association  of 
Ohio  Colleges  rendered  no  more  notable  and  im- 
portant service  than  in  bringing  the  institutions  of 
which  it  was  composed  to  the  level  of  the  best  col- 
leges in  the  land.  Even  institutions  which  did 
not  become  members  were  benefited,  and  with  per- 
haps a  few  exceptions,  were  induced  to  maintain  a 
higher  standard  of  work.  It  may  be  true  that 
some  colleges  of  the  association  have  not  fully  con- 

195 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

formed  to  the  standard  adopted.  Indeed,  it  is  a 
question  whetlier  some  very  prominent  colleges 
which  were  very  active  in  securing  the  higher 
standard  of  courses  and  work  have  not  themselves, 
by  their  semi-professional  courses,  departed  some- 
what from  the  high  standard  they  helped  to  estab- 
lish in  the  late  70's  and  the  early  80's  of  the  last 
century. 

The  chief  difficulty  which  Otterbein  University 
experienced  in  the  elevation  of  the  standard  of  col- 
lege work  was  financial,  and  it  was  well  that  it  had 
in  its  service  at  this  important  time  a  corps  of  very 
capable  and  successful  agents.  They  were :  J.  B. 
Resler,  D.  Bender,  C.  W.  Miller,  D.  R.  Miller,  S. 
M.  Hippard,  J.  A.  Crayton,  E.  Bernard,  and  J.  L. 
Morrison,  all  ministers  except  the  last  named.  J. 
A.  Crayton  and  E.  Barnard  served  but  one  year 
each,  and  so  did  not  have  opportunity  for  great 
achievement.  Of  J.  B.  Resler,  who  began  service 
in  the  pioneer  period,  and  labored  successfully  for 
seven  yeai^,  an  account  is  given  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter. D.  Bender  served  as  a  solicitor  for  two  years, 
and  then  as  general  financial  agent  for  six  years, 
closing  his  work  for  the  university  in  1879,  He 
was  a  very  successful  agent,  whose  work  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  university.  It  could  not 
have  been  spared  without  disaster.  He  carried  the 
university  through  the  great  panic  of  1873  and  the 
years  immediately  following,  when  so  many  busi- 
ness enterprises,  managed  by  the  foremost  business 
men  of  the  country,  went  to  ruin. 

In  spit©  of  the  success  of  the  agents  in  soliciting 
gifts  for  the  college  sufficient  to  keep  the  contin- 

196 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

gent  assets  well  up  to  the  amoiint  of  the  debt,  the 
debt  steadily  increased,  a  constant  drain  upon  the 
resources  of  the  college  to  meet  interest  charges. 
Those  who  have  experience  in  such  matters  know 
that  a  debt  is  usually  a  much  more  solid  matter 
than  the  assets  gathered  by  solicitation  tO'  pay  it. 
The  debt  is  good  for  one  hundred  cents  on  the  dol- 
lar, and  the  interest  is  a  constantly  accruing 
factor,  day  and  night,  without  a  moment's  inter- 
mission, while  the  assets  are  often  in  the  form  of 
notes  on  long  time,  sometimes  without  interest, 
occasionally  the  largest  of  the  gifts  being  on  annu- 
ity, not  therefore  an  absolute  asset  until  the  death 
of  the  annuitants.  Quite  recently  tliere  came  into 
the  free  possession  of  the  university  over  ten  thou- 
sand dollars,  most  of  which  a  devoted  and  generous 
friend  had  given  over  thirty  years  before.  It  was 
a  noble  gift,  but  it  had  all  the  weight  of  debt  in 
the  annuity  paid  for  this  long  period  of  time.  The 
widening  gulf  between  the  amount  of  debt  and  the 
amount  of  cash  on  hand  to  pay  it  made  it  necessary 
to  borrow  large  sums  of  money  tO'  pay  pressing 
claims.  When  borrowed  from  inside  parties  who 
w^ere  devoted  friends  of  the  institution,  it  could 
usually  be  gotten  on  the  credit  of  the  university, 
but  when  borrowed  from  banks  or  other  outside 
parties,  personal  security  had  to  be  given.  This 
put  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  test,  and  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  record  that  there  were  those  who'  were  will- 
ing to  serve  the  college  by  lending  it  their  credit, 
and  some  of  them  stood  for  many  years  so  heavily 
obligated  in  this  respect  that  disaster  to  the  uni- 
versity would  have  brought  ruin  to  them.     There 

197 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

were,  indeed,  some  who  found  it  convenient  to 
make  promises  to  their  wives  that  they  would  not 
go  security,  promises  which  they  seemed  to  regard 
as  extremely  sacred,  and  which  they  would  not  for 
any  consideration  disregard !  This  rendered  the 
burden  all  the  heavier  for  those  who  were  willing 
thus  to  befriend  the  university.  Being,  however, 
persons  of  moderate  means,  the  extent  to  which 
they  could  honorably  endorse  reached  its  limit  her 
fore  the  needs  of  the  university  were  met,  and 
other  methods  of  carrying  the  burden  had  to  be 
devised.  Mr.  Bender  was  resourceful  and  recom- 
mended to  the  board  of  trustees  to  issue  bonds  first 
for  $25,000  and  later  for  $30,000,  secured  by 
mortgage  upon  the  college  plant.  The  board  acted 
favorably  upon  the  recommendation  and  Mr.  Ben- 
der succeeded  well  in  selling  the  bonds,  and  thus 
secured  the  means  to  pay  the  more  pressing  claims. 
The  plan  afforded  great  and  probably  indispen- 
sable relief.  The  bonds  were  issued  for  ten  years, 
and  were  several  times  renewed.  All  except  a  few 
have  been  paid  off.  Mr.  Bender  secured  the  money 
which  gave  the  basis  for  the  Merchant  chair,  which 
he  regards  as  the  greatest  single  service  he  ever 
rendered  for  the  university,  fortunate  alike  for 
the  school  and  the  generous  lady,  Mrs.  Caroline 
Merchant,  who  gave  the  money  to  establish  the 
chair.  Mr.  Bender  has  for  a  number  of  years  re- 
sided in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
business.  He  probably  never  performed  a  more 
important  service  than  when,  in  a  very  trying  time, 
he  managed  the  financial  interests  of  Otterbein 
University. 

198 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

'Rev.  D.  R.  Miller  is  another  of  the  successful 
agents  who  served  the  university  preceding  and 
during  the  early  years  of  President  Thompson's 
administration.  He  had  charge  of  the  endowment, 
loaned  it,  collected  the  interest,  and  solicited  new 
gifts  to  increase  it.  Some  very  valuable  gifts  came 
through  his  solicitation.  The  basis  for  what  is 
now  known  as  the  Hively  chair,  so  named  in  honor 
of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Hively,  noble  friends  of 
the  university,  was  laid  by  the  money  solicited  by 
Mr.  Miller,  to  which  the  daughter,  Mrs.  Harriet 
H.  Smith,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  has  made  very  gen- 
erous additions  since.  Other  gifts  of  very  substan- 
tial value  were  secured  by  Mr.  Miller.  It  would 
not  perhaps  be  correct  to  say  that  Mr.  Miller  per- 
formed here  the  great  service  of  his  life,  for  after 
leaving  the  university  he  served  for  nearly  twice 
as  long  a  period  as  manager  of  Union  Biblical 
Seminary ;  but  it  is  correct  to  say  that  he  wrought 
into  the  university  seven  years  of  service  from  the 
prime  and  vigor  of  his  life,  the  fruits  of  which 
abide,  especially  in  the  endowment  fund  which  he 
helped  to  augment.  Mr.  Miller  also  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  having  served  as  trustee  for  thirty-four 
years,  which  is  surpassed  by  but  one  trustee  in  the 
past  sixty  years.  The  father  of  the  present  board 
is  Rev.  I.  Bennehoff,  of  the  Erie  Conference,  who 
has  been  a  member  for  thirty-five  years,  and  con- 
tinuously since  1873.  Mr.  Miller  also  served  a 
number  of  years  on  the  executive  committee  and  as 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees.  ISTo  trustee,  it 
may  be  safely  affirmed,  has  attended  more  sessions 
of  the  board   and  has  taken  a  more  intelligent 

199 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

part  in  its  deliberations.  He  now  resides  at  Day- 
ton, Ohio. 

Rev.  0.  W.  Miller,  a  brother  of  the  last-men- 
tioned agent,  spent  altogether  nine  years  in  the 
agency  work,  two  of  them  later  than  President 
Thompson's  administration.  The  length  of  his 
service  testifies  to  his  efficiency,  but  to  give  it  in 
detail  would  largely  be  to  repeat  what  has  been 
said  of  other  successful  agents.  It  is  enough  to 
say  that  Mr.  Miller  measured  up  to  the  standard 
of  efficiency  of  the  class  of  agents  who  contributed 
substantially  to  the  material  resources  of  the  uni- 
versity.   He  is  now  a  pastor  at  Sunbury,  Pa. 

This  is  likewise  true  of  J.  L.  Morrison,  one  of 
the  few  laymen  who  served  the  university.  He 
spent  four  years  in  the  work  in  a  very  capable  and 
efficient  way.  He  is  now  conducting  a  book-store 
in  Westerville,  Ohio. 

Rev.  S.  M.  Hippard  began  his  service  as  general 
financial  agent  and  treasurer  in  1879,  succeeding 
Rev.  D.  Bender,  and  continued  until  1892,  a 
period  of  thirteen  years,  which  is  the  record  for 
length  of  service  as  agent  in  the  past  sixty  years. 
Mr.  Hippard  had  just  completed  a  five  years'  term 
of  service  as  financial  manager  of  Union  Biblical 
Seminary  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  closing  his  service 
there  with  the  erection  of  the  Seminary  building, 
which  for  nearly  thirty  years  has  served  the  pur- 
poses of  this  school  of  the  prophets.  It  w^as  his 
successful  work  for  the  Seminary  which  attracted 
attention  to  him  as  the  man  to  undertake  the 
serious  task  of  managing  the  financial  interests  of 
the  university.     How  serious  this  task  was  is  ap- 

200 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

parent  from  the  fact  that  a  debt  of  over  $75,000 
had  accumulated,  which  was  causing  alarm  tO'  some 
of  the  devoted  friends  of  the  institution.  The 
apparently  substantial  relief  to  this  serious  condi- 
tion of  things  was  over  $66,000  of  contingent 
assets,  leaving  the  net  debt  only  a  little  over 
$9,000.  Now,  had  this  $66,000  assets  been  in 
cash,  or  in  paper  readily  convertible  into  cash,  it 
would  have  been  a  very  simple  transaction  to  pay 
off  nearly  seven-eighths  of  the  debt  and  so  reduce 
the  exhaustive  drain  of  over  $5,000  per  year  for 
interest  payments  to  less  than  $700  ;  but  the  actual 
problem  was  far  more  difficult.  Attention  has  be- 
fore been  called  to  the  armor-plate  solidity  of  such 
a  debt  and  the  spongy  and  feathery  character  of 
such  assets.  The  credit  of  the  university  required 
that  the  debt  be  paid,  principal  and  interest, 
promptly  when  due;  but  more  than  one-half  the 
$66,000  assets  bore  no  interest  at  all,  and  a  large 
part  of  it  was  in  bequest  notes,  not  payable  until 
after  the  death  of  those  giving  them,  while  a  con- 
siderable portion  was  in  old  notes  long  past  due, 
and  so  of  very  doubtful  value,  leaving  only  a  small 
part  practically  as  good  as  cash. 

Such  was  the  unequal  contest  between  debt  and 
assets  which  confronted  Mr.  Hippard  when  he 
entered  upon  his  duties  in  1879.  It  is  plain  that 
success  in  reducing  and  paying  off  the  debt  re- 
quired that  there  be  large  reinforcements  of  new 
assets,  for  at  the  outset,  in  order  to  pay  accruing 
interest  and  annuity  obligations,  agents'  salaries, 
and  deficits  in  current  expenses,  fully  $10,000 
per  year  must  be  secured  in  cash  before  the  least 

201 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

reduction  in  debt  could  be  accomplished.  At  this 
time  the  outlay  for  interest  and  annuities  alone 
exceeded  the  entire  outlay  for  the  work  of  instruc- 
tion, and  to  carry  the  debt  of  the  university  had 
become  a  greater  burden  than  to  carry  the  properly 
educational  work.  It  is  not,  therefore,  a  matter  of 
much  surprise,  however  much  it  may  be  a  matter 
of  regret,  that  in  spite  of  all  the  earnest  labors  of 
the  agents,  the  debt  continued  to  increase  imtil  in 
1892,  the  date  at  which  Mr.  Hippard  retired,  it 
had  reached  the  rather  startling  aggregate  of  over 
$114,000.  Meanwhile  the  contingent  assets  were 
increased  from  $66,000  in  1879  to  over  $75,000 
in  1892.  To  pay  all  interest  and  annuity  claims, 
agents'  salaries,  and  deficits  in  the  current  ex- 
penses during  the  thirteen  years  of  Mr.  Hippard's 
administration  required  over  $175,000,  while  the 
solicitations  and  collections  during  this  period 
were  only  about  $145,000,  which  explains  why  the 
net  debt  in  1892  was,  in  round  numbers,  $30,000 
greater  than  in  1879,  and  the  actual  debt  nearly 
$40,000  greater,  which  latter  sum  had  therefore  to 
be  borrowed  in  addition  to  the  $75,000  of  bor- 
rowed money  in  1879.  These  words  are  quickly 
written  and  more  quickly  read,  but  they  represent 
many  years  of  struggle,  anxiety,  perplexity,  heart- 
ache, wakeful  nights,  wearing  toil,  and  sacrifice 
which  only  he  who  bore  the  responsibility  of  the 
gTowing  load  could  appreciate,  and  only  one  who 
was  on  the  inside,  as  the  author  happened  to  be, 
and  knew  what  was  going  on,  could  comprehend. 
At  the  same  time  these  figures  attract  attention  to 
a  little  band  of  loyal  and  devoted  friends  of  the 

202 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

university,  in  wliicli  band  D.  L.  Rike,  of  Dayton, 
Ohio,  stands  as  prince,  who  stood  unflinchingly 
and  courageously  by  the  perplexed  and  hard- 
pressed  management,  through  all  the  storm  and 
stress  of  the  great  and  prolonged  effort,  and  gave 
indispensable  aid  in  averting  the  threatened  finan- 
cial disaster. 

In  the  strenuous  struggle  of  the  financial  man- 
agement to  maintain  the  credit  and  preserve  and 
perpetuate  the  life  of  the  university,  there  was 
resort  to  one  expedient,  begun  during  the  previous 
management  and  continued  in  that  of  Mr,  Hip- 
pard's  the  seeming  necessity  for  which  none 
regretted  more  sincerely  than  the  managers  them- 
selves. It  was  the  temporary  loan  of  part  of  the 
endowment  fund  to  the  contingent  fund,  in  order 
to  pay  pressing  claims.  The  situation  was  about 
this:  In  carrying  the  burdensome  debt,  the  time 
came,  as  before  stated,  when  borrowing  money 
upon  the  simple  credit  of  the  university  had 
reached  its  limit.  Then  came  the  appeal  to  de- 
voted friends  to  pledge,  if  not  their  lives,  yet  their 
fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor  in  support  of  the 
university  by  endorsing  its  paper.  As  the  number 
of  friends  willing  thus  to  befriend  the  institution 
was  quite  limited,  the  increasing  debt  soon  out- 
grew this  means  of  relief.  Then  came  the  expe- 
dient of  issuing  the  bonds  of  the  university 
secured  by  a  mortgage  on  the  college  plant.  This 
afforded  great  relief,  as  the  bonds  had  ten  years  to 
run  and  there  could  be  no  pressure  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  principal  for  that  length  of  time. 
Although  the  agents  were  able  to  solicit  and  collect 

203 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

money  enough  to  pay  all  the  cost  of  carrying  for- 
ward tlie  educational  work,  yet  because  of  heavy 
interest  payments,  fully  double  this  amount  was 
required,  and  the  debt  continued  to  swell  in 
amount,  making  it  necessary  to  borrow  more 
money.  In  this  extremity  the  managers,  seeing  no 
other  way  of  relief,  very  reluctantly  resorted  to  the 
endowment.  This  was  a  permanent  fund  of  which 
the  interest  only  was  to  be  used  to  support  instruc- 
tion, and  was  not  legitimately  available  for  the 
payment  of  debt.  It  was,  however,  necessary  to 
loan  the  fund  in  order  tO'  secure  interest  for  the 
support  of  instruction,  and  it  was  contended  that 
if  part  of  the  endoA^onent  should  be  loaned  to  the 
contingent  or  debt-paying  fund  at  the  same  rate 
of  interest  required  from  outside  parties,  with 
prompt  payment  of  interest,  with  the  repayment  of 
principal  in  due  time^  the  endoAvment  would  not 
be  diverted  from  its  purpose.  The  hazard,  of 
course,  was  that  there  would  be  default  in  the  pay- 
ment of  interest  and  that  the  principal  would 
never  be  repaid,  as  had  actually  been  the  case  in 
some  similar  transactions  in  some  other  institu- 
tions. There  was  no  attempt  tO'  justify  the  transac- 
tion except  as  a  last  resort  to  save  the  life  of  the 
university,  to  accomplish  which  at  the  time,  there 
seemed  to  be  no  other  way.  It  is  easy  for  those 
who  did  not  have  the  responsibility  to  face  to  crit- 
icise and  condemn  the  transaction,  but  to  those 
who  were  obliged  to  deal  with  tlie  problem,  it 
seemed  wiser  to  make  the  loan  and  save  the  life  of 
the  institution,  than  to  regard  the  endowment,  a 
fund  distinctly  intended  to  perpetuate  the  life  and 

204 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

work  of  the  university,  toO'  sacred  for  sucli  use, 
and  allow  tlie  institution  to  perish,  which  would 
carry  the  endowment  to  destruction  with  it.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  it  is  a  very  great  pleasure  to 
record  the  fact  that  there  never  was  a  default  in 
the  payment  of  interest,  and  that  the  loan,  which, 
at  its  utmost,  exceeded  $30,000,  was  repaid  to  the 
last  dollar  under  later  financial  managements. 

Mr.  Hippard  is  now  living  in  Westerville, 
broken  in  health  and  incapable  of  further  service. 
Although  he  served  his  country  as  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion,  he  probably  never  per- 
formed a  more  strenuous  and  heroic  service  than 
during  his  thirteen  years'  financial  management  of 
Otterbein  University. 

Mr.  Hippard  was  the  last  of  the  eight  agents 
whose  service  was  partly  or  wholly  performed 
during  the  administration  of  President  Thompson, 
and  the  reader  will  begin  to  understand  that  the 
financial  agents  had  the  hard  part  of  the  proposi- 
tion in  the  past  work  of  the  university,  and  so  will 
understand  why  the  work  of  the  agents  is  set  forth 
at  the  same  time  with  that  of  the  presidents  and 
professors. 

In  the  later  years  of  President  Thompson's 
administration,  E.  L.  Shuey,  of  the  class  of  1877, 
served  four  years  as  principal  of  the  preparatory 
department  and  J,  E.  Lehman  for  one  year,  both 
with  great  efficiency. 

L.  H.  McFadden,  son  of  Professor  Thos.  Mc- 
Eadden,  of  the  class  of  1874,  after  serving  for  six 
years  as  professor  of  natural  science  in  Lebanon 
Valley  College,  was  elected  a  professor  in  Otter- 

205 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

bein  University  in  1882,  and  served  as  adjunct 
professor  of  natural  science  for  two  years,  then  as 
professor  of  natural  science  for  fourteen  years, 
and  then  as  professor  of  physics  and  chemistry  for 
nine  years  to  date,  a  continuous  period  of  twenty- 
five  years  of  very  faithful  and  efficient  service.  He 
has  also  been  a  member  and  secretary  of  the  execu- 
tive committee,  librarian,  and  vice-president.  He 
has  been  a  judicious  counselor  in  the  work  of  the 
university,  and  his  service  has  counted  for  very 
much  in  the  past  quarter  of  a  century. 

Rev.  W.  J.  Zuck,  of  the  class  of  1878,  after 
serving  as  principal  of  Eoanoke  Classical  Acad- 
emy in  Indiana,  Shenandoah  Seminary  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  professor  in  Lebanon  Valley  College  in 
Pennsylvania,  was  elected  a  professor  in  Otterbein 
University  in  1884.  He  served  first  as  professor 
of  history  and  English  for  one  year,  and  then  of 
English  language  and  literature  until  1903,  when 
he  resigned,  a  period  of  eighteen  years.  He  served 
also  as  librarian  for  four  years,  as  member  of  the 
executive  committee  for  five  years,  as  treasurer  for 
six  years,  as  general  financial  secretary  for  eight 
years,  and  as  secretary  of  the  prudential  commit- 
tee for  eleven  years.  Besides  his  capable  work  in 
the  department  of  instruction  he  carried,  for 
which  he  gathered  a  valuable  department  library, 
his  record  shows  that  he  was  useful  in  many  ways 
during  his  long  connection  with  the  faculty  of  the 
university.  Since  severing  his  connection  with 
tJie  university,  he  has  served  as  the  pastor  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church  of  Annville,  Pa.,  the 
seat  of  Lebanon  Valley  College. 

206 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

President  Thompson  retired  from  the  presi- 
dency in  1886,  and  from  the  faculty  in  1887,  with 
a  record  of  twenty  years  of  laborious  and  effective 
service  for  the  university.  It  was  a  period  of  sub- 
stantial growth  and  progress,  and  the  work  of  the 
university  was  maintained  at  such  a  level  that 
graduates  who  entered  other  institutions  for  pro- 
fessional and  post-graduate  study  had  no  difficulty 
in  maintaining  themselves  in  competition  with  the 
graduates  of  the  foremost  colleges  of  the  country. 
President  Thompson  also  had  much  to  do  with  the 
organization  of  the  General  Board  of  Education  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church,  of  which  he  served 
as  secretary  for  a  number  of  years,  submitting 
carefully-prepared  reports,  which  gave  direction 
to  the  work  of  the  board,  unifying  the  educational 
work  of  the  Church,  and  restraining  the  disposi- 
tion unduly  to  multiply  institutions.  Since  leav- 
ing the  university,  Mr.  Thompson  has  been  abun- 
dant in  labors  of  various  kinds.  Por  several  years 
he  served  as  State  Chairman  of  the  Prohibition 
Party  of  Ohio,  and  for  several  years  as  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  of  the  Ohio  Sabbath  Associa- 
tion. At  the  Columbian  Exposition  at  Chicago,  he 
helped  to  prepare  the  exhibit  of  the  Ohio  Archae- 
ological and  Historical  Society,  and  during  the 
Ohio  Centennial  he  was  Commissioner  of  the  De- 
partment of  Science  and  Education,  and  prepared 
the  exhibit  in  that  department.  At  the  General 
Conference  in  1893,  he  was  elected  assistant,  and 
in  1897  editor-in-chief  of  Sabbath-school  litera- 
ture. In  1901  he  was  again  elected  assistant,  and 
also  as  editor  of  the  United  Brethren  Review.    In 

207 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

1905  lie  was  elected  again  as  editor  of  the  Review, 
which  position  he  now  holds. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  President  Thompson  in 
1886,  the  board  elected  as  his  successor  Rev. 
Henry  Garst,  of  the  class  of  1861,  wdio  had  been 
elected  professor  of  Latin  in  1869,  and  had  served 
in  that  position  continuously  since.  Upon  his  re- 
tirement in  1889,  and  his  election  as  professor  of 
mental  and  moral  science,  the  board  elected  Hon. 
C.  A.  Bowersox,  of  the  class  of  1874,  an  attorney 
of  Bryan,  Ohio,  president.  The  service  of  Presi- 
dent Bowersox  was  largely  nominal,  the  duties  of 
his  profession  engrossing  most  of  his  time.  In 
1891  he  resigned,  and  the  board  elected  T.  J.  San- 
ders, of  the  class  of  1878,  at  the  time  superin- 
tendent of  schools  in  Warsaw,  Ind.^  as  his  suc- 
cessor. 

President  Sanders  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
his  position  with  great  earnestness  and  enthusiasm 
and  quickly  inspired  widespread  hope  and  confi- 
dence. For  the  first  five  of  his  ten  years'  service 
he  gave  himself  almost  wholly  to  field  work,  travel- 
ing to  every  part  of  the  cooperating  territory,  de- 
livering educational  addresses  before  high  schools, 
conferences,  and  churches,  and  visiting  the  people 
in  their  homes  to  interest  them  in  the  work  of  the 
university.  Among  the  first  fiTiits  of  this  stirring 
campaign  work  was  the  organization  of  the  Wom- 
an's Cooperative  Circle,  which  did  much  to  arouse 
and  enlist  the  women  of  the  Church ;  the  erection 
of  the  Christian  Association  and  gymnasium 
building,  which  quickened  as  well  as  expressed  the 
loyalty  and  devotion  of  the  student  body,  and  the 

208 


Rev.  T.  J.  SANDERS,  Ph.  D. 
A  Former  I'resident,  and  JNow  Rrotessor  ot  Piailosopby 


DAVID  I..  HIKE 

Oil*  of  the  University's  Best  Friends  and  Member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

execution  of  the  so-called  Knox  plan,  which 
arrested  the  swelling  tide  of  debt  and  reduced  it  to 
manageable  proportions. 

The  chief  service  of  the  Woman's  Cooperative 
Circle,  while  it  was  very  useful  in  other  ways,  was 
its  aid  in  carrying  to  success  the  Knox  plan,  and 
its  work  may  be  considered  in  connection  with  that 
plan.  The  erection  of  the  Christian  Association 
and  gymnasium  building,  while  in  the  author's 
view  it  had  a  very  important  bearing  upon  the 
success  of  the  Knox  plan,  since  it  was  a  distinct- 
ively student  enterprise,  especially  of  the  students 
who  were  members  of  the  Christian  associations 
of  the  university,  can  appropriately  be  presented 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  associations, 
and  we  come  at  once  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Knox  plan. 

What  was  the  Knox  plan  ?  In  brief,  it  was  a 
plan  to  relieve  the  well-nigh  hopeless  financial  em- 
barrassment of  the  university.  As  before  stated, 
the  debt  in  1892  was  reported  at  over  $114,000, 
which  was  actually  a  slight  decrease  from  the 
previous  year,  instead  of  an  increase  of  from,  three 
to  seven  thousand  dollars,  as  had  been  the  case  for 
a  number  of  years  before.  When,  however,  the 
board  met  in  1893,  the  report  of  the  general  agent 
and  treasurer,  C.  W.  Miller,  who  had  succeeded 
Mr.  Hippard,  revealed  the  startling  fact  that  the 
debt  had  increased  over  $8,000  during  the  year, 
swelling  the  amount  to  over  $122,000,  President 
Sanders  very  earnestly  yet  hopefully  discussed  the 
gravity  of  the  situation  in  his  report  to  the  board, 
and  recommended  that  there  be  an  effort  to  secure 

14  209 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

$100,000  in  sums  of  $500  and  upward,  to  mature 
at  one  time,  suggesting  two  jears  as  the  time  to 
fix  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  purpose.  After 
appointing  the  committees  and  referring  the 
president's  recommendations  to  the  appropriate 
committees,  the  board  adjourned  to  give  the  com- 
mittees time  to  prepare  their  reports.  When  the 
board  convened  in  the  afternoon,  Mr.  John  Knox, 
a  layman,  a  resident  of  Westerville  and  stanch 
friend  of  the  university,  not  a  trustee,  arose  and 
asked  permission  to  present  to  the  board  a  plan  to 
secure  the  money  in  one  year  to  pay  the  debt  of  the 
university.  Permission  was  granted  and  he  briefly 
outlined  a  plan  to-  secure  $80,000  for  the  univer- 
sity between  the  adjournment  of  the  board  in  1893 
and  the  adjournment  of  the  board  in  1894,  in  sums 
of  $1,000  and  upwards,  all  pledges  to  be  condi- 
tioned upon  the  full  sum  of  $80,000  being  secured 
within  the  time  named,  with  the  proviso  that  all 
persons  contributing  one  or  more  thousand  dollars 
should  be  elected  members  of  a  special  finance  com- 
mittee to  take  control  of  the  financial  interests  of 
the  imiversity  and  see  that  the  money  secured  was 
applied  to  the  payment  of  the  debt.  The  plan  of 
Mr.  Knox,  who  was  a  successful  business  man,  im- 
pressed the  board  very  favorably,  and  it  was 
promptly  referred  to  the  committee  on  finance, 
with  instructions  to  consider  it  and  report.  In 
due  time  the  committee  reported  the  plan,  with 
some  minor  modifications,  and  the  board  adopted 
it  and  appointed  a  committee  of  ten  persons  to 
direct  in  the  execution  of  the  plan.  This  commit- 
tee met  immediately  after  the  final  adjournment 

210 


Review  of  the  Pi-ogress  Since  1860 

of  the  board,  and  started  tlie  effort  by  pledging 
$11,000,  which  was  thought  a  very  auspicious  be- 
ginning. This  was  on  the  15th  of  June,  1893. 
The  country,  at  the  time,  was  fairly  prosperous 
and  there  were  high  hopes  for  the  success  of  the 
Knox  plan  and  the  relief  of  the  university  from 
its  embarrassed  condition;  but  before  the  month 
was  out  the  great  financial  panic  of  that  year  burst 
upon  the  country  with  the  violence  of  a  tornado, 
and  for  a  time  entirely  paralyzed  the  effort.  There 
were  failures  on  every  hand,  and  it  was  utterly 
impossible  to  make  any  headway  in  the  effort  to 
execute  the  Knox  plan.  All  public  effort  ceased 
for  months  and  there  was  anxious  waiting  for  the 
financial  storm  to  abate  so  that  the  effort  might  be 
resumed.  Meanwhile  a  list  of  persons  who,  it  was 
thought,  were  able,  and  who,  it  was  hoped,  would 
be  willing  to  help,  was  made  and  amounts  set  oppo- 
site their  names  for  which  they  should  be  asked. 
In  this  way  the  entire  $80,000  was  apportioned, 
and  it  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that  when 
the  effort  was  crowned  with  success  it  was  found 
that  over  two-thirds  of  the  entire  sum  was  gotten 
from  persons  whose  names  were  in  this  list.  Pres- 
ident Sanders  was  tireless  in  his  efforts  to  collect 
and  marshal  the  forces  to  be  ready  at  the  earliest 
opportune  moment  to  move  forward  to  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Knox  plan.  He  traveled  extensively 
in  the  cooperating  territory,  held  numerous  con- 
ferences with  influential  friends,  making  known  to 
them  the  amounts  which  it  was  hoped  they  might 
contribute,  and  asking  their  earnest  and  prayerful 
consideration  of  the  matter.     The  General  Confer- 

211 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ence  of  1893  had  decided  that  the  ensuing  quad- 
rennium  should  be  devoted  especially  to  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  Church,  and  that  there 
should  be  earnest  efforts  to  free  all  her  colleges 
from  debt  and  improve  and  increase  their  equip- 
ment. The  General  Conference,  however,  devised 
no  plans  by  which  this  work  should  be  accom- 
plished. President  Sanders  suggested  a  bishops' 
coimcil,  to  which  should  be  invited  the  general  offi- 
cers of  the  Church,  presidents,  and  financial  man- 
agers of  the  colleges,  and  other  interested  persons, 
to  consider  the  condition  of  the  educational  work 
and  give  impulse  and  direction  to  the  effort  for 
relief.  The  bishops  responded  by  calling  a  council 
to  meet  in  Johnstown,  Pa.,  on  the  28th  of  iN'ovem- 
ber,  1893.  The  council  met  and  was  presided  over 
by  Bishop  J.  Weaver,  D.D.  There  was  a  very 
earnest  discussion  of  the  whole  educational  work 
of  the  Church,  in  which  its  vital  and  fundamental 
relation  to  the  activities  of  the  Church  was  empha- 
sized. One  of  tlie  recommendations  of  the  council 
was  that  the  authorities  of  the  different  colleges 
call  councils  and  invite  to  them  the  trustees,  pre- 
siding elders,  preachers,  and  laymen  of  the  co- 
operating territory  to  agree  upon  some  method  of 
relief  for  the  college  of  the  territory.  In  com- 
pliance with  this  recommendation  a  council  was 
called  by  the  authorities  of  Otterbein  University  to 
meet  on  January  16,  1894,  in  Westerville,  Ohio. 
The  attendance  was  not  large,  but  of  quite  a  repre- 
sentative character,  coming  from  nine  conferences 
and  three  States.  From  St.  Joseph  Conference 
came  Bishop  jST.    Castle,   who  presided  over  the 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

council;  from  Allegheny,  Kev.  H.  A.  Thompson, 
Prof.   Geo.   A.   Funkhouser,   and   C.   E.   Mullin, 
Esq.;  from  East  Ohio,  Kev.  W.   O.   Siffert  and 
Kev.  W.  H.  Shepherd;  from  Central  Ohio,  Kev. 
W.  G.  Mank  and  Kev.  J.  L.  Manger ;  from  Miami, 
Kev.  G.  M.  Mathews,  Kev.  W.  J.  Shuey,  Kev.  S. 
W.  Keister,  Kev.  L.  Bookwalter,  and  S.  E.  Knm- 
ler,  Judge  J.  A.  Shauck,  F.  H.  Kike,  E.  L.  Shuey, 
and  George  Hartzell,  Esq. ;  from  IN'orth  Ohio,  Kev. 
D.  B.  Keller ;  from  Auglaize,  Kev.  J.  W.  Lower ; 
from  Sandusky,  Kev.  D.  K.  Miller,  Kev.  I.  P.  Lea, 
Kev.  J.  W.  Hicks,  and  Kev.  G.  L.  Bender;  from 
Scioto,  Kev.  G.  W,  Deaver.    These,  with  a  numher 
of  local  representatives,  constituted  the  council.  It 
was  a  most  important  body,  facing  very  grave  re- 
sponsibility.    The  endeavor  was  first  to  learn  as 
accurately   as  possible  the  real  condition  of  the 
university.    It  was  found  that  internally  the  insti- 
tution was  really  prosperous,  with  a  growing  num- 
ber of  most  excellent  and  thoroughly  loyal  stu- 
dents.    It  was  found  that  from  1880  to  1894  the 
institution,    exclusive    of    agents'     salaries    and 
interest    on    debt,    had    been    conducted    for    an 
average   of  $10,028   per   annum,    a   sui'prisingly 
low  sum,  when  the  extent  and  standard  character 
of  the  work  done  are  considered,  proving  beyond 
question  that  there  had  been  very  careful  and 
economical  management.     In  fact,  it  would  seem 
that  about  everything  the  council  saw  or  after  care- 
ful investigation  discovered,  except  the  enormous 
debt,  was  satisfactory  and  very  gratifying,  and  so 
courage  and  determination  seemed  to  grow  as  the 
council  proceeded  in  its  deliberations,  and  it  was 
213 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

resolved  to  make  a  most  determined  effort  to  carry 
the  Knox  plan  to  success  in  spite  of  the  financial 
crisis,  from  which  there  was  as  yet  little  or  no 
abatement,  and  so  the  council  adopted  a  number  of 
inspiring  resolutions,  of  which  this  is  the  last : 

"8.  Finally,  we,  as  members  of  this  coimcil,  in- 
dividually and  collectively,  appreciating  the  funda- 
mental importance  of  Otterbein  University  to  the 
work  and  success  of  the  Church,  pledge  ourselves 
to  stand  by  and  aid  the  effort  to  relieve  the  uni- 
versity. Taking  this  interest  upon  our  own  hearts 
to  do  our  utmost,  with  earnest  prayer  to  God 
for  his  help  and  blessing,  we  would  lay  it  upon  the 
hearts  of  all  our  people  in  the  cooperating  con- 
ferences, and  bespeak  the  liberal  aid  of  all  whom 
the  Lord  has  blessed  with  means,  to  the  end  that 
the  needs  of  the  university  may  be  relieved  and  its 
wants  supplied." 

Before  adjourning,  the  members  of  the  council 
started  up  the  Knox  plan  again,  which  had  halted 
until  now  at  the  $11,000  pledged  before  the  finan- 
cial panic  began,  by  adding  $7,000  in  pledges, 
bringing  the  aggregate  pledged  to  $18,000,  but 
seven  months  of  the  year  were  gone,  and  only  five 
months  were  left  in  which  to  secure  the  remaining 
$62,000.  It  is  plain  that  the  problem  could  not 
be  solved  by  the  rule  of  three,  for  $62,000  in  five 
months  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  $18,000  in 
seven  months.  To  some  the  attempt  to  carry 
through  the  Knox  plan  in  the  distracted  financial 
condition  of  the  country  seemed  foolhardy  and 
hopeless,  but  not  so  to  the  little  band  composing 
the  council.     Immediately  after  the  adjournment 

214 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

a  canvass  began  of  an  intensity  such  as  the  Church 
had  never  known  before.  President  Sanders  was 
the  leader  and  inspiring  spirit  of  the  campaign. 
Rev.  C  W.  Miller,  of  whose  labors  an  account 
has  already  been  given,  was  the  general  financial 
secretary  and  treasurer,  and  gave  the  last  of  his 
nine  years'  service  for  the  university  in  the  effort 
to  execute  the  Knox  plan.  Kev.  C.  Whitney,  the 
present  home  missionary  secretary,  gave  the  last 
of  his  five  very  successful  years'  of  service  as  a 
soliciting  agent  in  this  strenuous  Knox-plan  cam- 
paign. The  campaign  grew  more  intense  as  it  ad- 
vanced, and  a  number  of  volunteer  workers  became 
enlisted,  of  whom  Mr.  S.  E.  Kumler,  of  Dayton, 
was  easily  chief.  He  not  only  contributed  very 
liberally  himself,  but  he  turned  aside  from  his  own 
business  and  traveled  throughout  the  territory  of 
the  university,  laboring  with  great  zeal  and  success 
in  the  canvass,  not  only  without  charge  for  his  ser- 
vice, but  even  paying  his  own  expenses.  In  the 
progress  of  the  canvass  he  opened  an  Otterbein 
University  column  in  the  Religious  Telescope,  in 
which  the  pledges  taken  from  week  to  week  were 
reported,  so  that  the  friends  of  the  university 
could  see  the  progress  of  the  contest  toward  vic- 
tory. While  the  contest  was  yet  on  in  all  its  in- 
tensity commencement  came  on,  and  the  board  as- 
sembled whose  final  adjournment  would  decide  the 
success  or  failure  of  the  plan,  and  so  probably  de- 
termine the  fate  of  the  university.  When  a  com- 
mittee had  carefully  examined  the  pledges  to  learn 
whether  they  conformed  to  the  requirements  of 
the  plan  in  character  and  amount,  it  was  found 

215 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

that  about  $6,000  was  still  required  to  complete 
the  effort  A  meeting  was  appointed  in  the  col- 
lege chapel  at  4  p.m.  Wednesday  to  attempt  to 
complete  the  effort,  and  a  large  and  intensely  earn- 
est congregation  filled  the  chapel  at  that  hour,  Mr. 
S.  E.  Kumler  took  the  platform  as  chairman,  and 
the  final  effort  of  the  campaign  began.  D.  L.  Rike, 
the  chairman  of  the  board,  then  the  greatest  bene- 
factor of  the  college,  put  the  effort  in  motion  by 
adding  $500  to  his  already  very  liberal  pledge.  A 
number  of  others  made  additions  to  their  pledges, 
while  others  made  original  pledges,  F.  H.  Rike, 
the  present  president  of  the  board,  noting  the 
pledges  until  the  goal  was  reached,  which,  when 
announced,  produced  such  an  outburst  of  joy  on 
the  part  of  friends  of  the  university  as  had  never 
been  witnessed  before,  nor  has  been  since.  It  was 
at  this  juncture  that  Mrs.  T.  J.  Sanders,  president 
of  the  Woman's  Cooperative  Circle,  was  helped  to 
the  platform,  and  as  soon  as  there  was  sufficient 
quiet  toi  be  heard,  on  behalf  of  the  Circle  pledged 
$5,000,  carrying  the  aggregate  beyond  $85,000, 
which  was  followed  by  another  outburst  of  tumul- 
tous rejoicing.  And  well  there  might  be  rejoicing, 
as  failure  might  well  have  been  followed  by  the 
tolling  of  the  bells  of  all  the  churches  of  the  de- 
nomination, for  the  university  could  hardly  have 
survived  defeat,  and  to  carry  the  effort  to  success 
in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  widespread  and 
disastrous  financial  storms  that  ever  swept  the 
country  was  not  only  one  of  the  grandest  achieve- 
ments in  the  history  of  the  university,  but  in  the 
history  of  the  church.     It  was  a  memorable  occa- 

216 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

sion,  and  no  one  who  was  permitted  to  be  present 
will  ever  forget  it.  It  would  be  impossible  prop- 
erly to  distribute  credit  for  the  success  of  an  effort 
in  which  so  many  shared  by  gifts  and  labors,  and 
it  is  therefore  deemed  best  to  publish,  in  Appendix 
B  of  this  volume,  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  con- 
tributors, with  the  amounts  given,  as  it  appeared 
at  the  time  in  the  Otterbein  University  column  of 
the  Religious  Telescope.  It  is  a  most  worthy  list, 
and  those  whose  names  appear  in  it  stand  in  as 
honorable  relation  to  the  university  as  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  stand  to  our 
country. 

Before  final  adjournment  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  Knox 
plan,  elected  all  who  had  given  $1,000  or  more, 
members  of  a  General  Finance  Committee,  to  take 
general  charge  of  the  finances  of  the  university. 
This  general  committee  chose  a  sub-committee  of 
five  members,  composed  of  business  men,  who  were 
to  take  actual  charge  of  the  business,  collect 
pledges,  and  apply  the  proceeds  to  the  payment  of 
debts,  etc.  The  members  of  the  sub-committee  were 
D.  L.  Kike,  S.  E.  Kumler,  Eev.  W.  J.  Shuey,  Geo. 
W.  Hartzell,  and  F.  H.  Kike.  This  committee 
organized  by  electing  S.  E.  Kumler  chairman,  and 
F.  H.  Kike  secretary.  The  sub-committee  estab- 
lished its  headquarters  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  where 
the  members,  with  one  exception,  resided,  and  for 
the  four  years  from  1894  to  1898  the  contingent 
assets  of  the  university  were  very  successfully 
managed  by  the  committee.     The  committee  suc- 

217 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ceeded  in  collecting  over  $61,000  of  the  Knox-plan 
pledges  during  the  first  year  after  the  success  of 
the  plan.  These  large  and  prompt  collections  en- 
abled the  committee  to  make  heavy  payments  on 
the  debt,  and  greatly  relieve  the  university.  At  the 
session  of  the  board  in  1898  the  members  of  the 
sub-committee,  partly  on  account  of  interference 
with  their  private  business,  desired  to  be  relieved 
from  further  service.  It  was  found,  too,  that  the 
members  of  the  General  Finance  Committee  con- 
stituted by  the  Knox  plan,  and  who  elected  the  sub- 
committee, could  not,  with  a  few  exceptions,  at- 
tend its  meetings,  and  wished  to  be  relieved  from 
the  responsibilities  of  the  committee.  So  it  was 
proposed  by  the  General  Knox-plan  Committee  to 
return  the  management  of  the  finances  to  the 
board,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  board  this  was 
formally  done,  and  the  entire  management  has 
since  been  from  the  business  office  of  the  univer- 
sity, in  Westerville.  It  is  due  to  the  memory  of 
Mr.  John  Knox  to  say  that  when  he  saw  the  diffi- 
culties in  maintaining  the  General  Finance  Com- 
mittee, required  by  his  plan,  he  cheerfully  ac- 
quiesced in  its  abandonment.  While  the  Knox 
plan  did  not  accomplish  all  that  its  author  and 
others  fondly  hoped,  nevertheless  its  success 
marked  a  very  important  era  in  the  history  of  the 
university,  and  the  institution  has  moved  forward 
and  upward  ever  since. 

There  were  a  few  soliciting  agents,  not  before 
mentioned,  who  served  the  university  just  before, 
and  during  the  administration  of  President  San- 
ders.    They  were:    Kev.  S.  H.  Raudebaugh,  Rev. 

218 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

Columbus  Hall,  Eev.  W.  B.  Leggett,  Eev.  S.  B. 
Ervin,  and  Rev.  F.  P.  Sanders.  ITone  of  these 
served  more  than  one  year,  and  some  of  them 
served  for  but  part  of  a  year.  Rev.  C.  W.  Miller 
and  Rev.  C.  Whitney,  who,  as  before  stated, 
closed  their  service  after  the  consummation  of  the 
Knox  plan,  were  the  last  financial  agents  who 
served  for  a  term  of  years.  When  the  Dayton  com- 
mittee took  charge  soliciting  agents  were  discon- 
tinued. President  Sanders,  who,  during  the  ear- 
lier years  of  his  administration,  spent  most  of  his 
time  in  the  field  soliciting  students  and  money, 
during  the  later  years  gave  most  of  his  time  to 
teaching  and  local  administrative  duties.  For  the 
six  years  from  1894  to  1900,  there  was  almost  no 
field  work  to  promote  the  material  interests  of  the 
university.  This  condition  of  things  put  to  the 
test  the  theory  of  those  friends  of  the  university 
who  contended  that  if  the  financial  management 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  experienced  and  suc- 
cessful business  laymen  of  the  Church,  the  money 
needed  would  be  supplied  without  the  costly  inter- 
vention of  soliciting  agents.  It  is  certain  that  the 
theory  did  not  work  in  the  case  of  the  university, 
for  while  there  were  no  soliciting  agents  in  the 
field  there  was  almost  no  addition  of  new  funds  to 
the  resources  of  the  university,  although  for  four 
years  of  this  period  the  financial  management  was 
in  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  the  most  exper- 
ienced and  successful  business  men  in  the  Church. 
So  in  1900,  when  the  author  resigned  his  profes- 
sorship and  was  elected  general  financial  secretary 
and  treasurer,  it  had  become  very  plain  that  in 

219 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

order  to  pay  the  portion  of  the  debt  not  reached  by 
the  success  of  the  Knox  plan,  and  provide  for  other 
needs  of  the  university,  the  canvass  for  money  in 
the  field  must  in  some  form  be  resumed,  and  there 
was  earnest  inquiry  for  some  suitable  person  to  en- 
gage in  this  work.  The  result  was  the  employment 
of  Rev.  Lawrence  Keister,  of  the  Allegheny  Con- 
ference, a  graduate  of  the  university,  as  field  sec- 
retary. He  entered  upon  his  duties  with  great 
earnestness,  and  although  greatly  hindered  in  his 
work  by  the  illness  of  his  father,  which  later 
proved  to  be  fatal,  he  secured  for  the  university  in 
the  five  and  one-half  months  he  was  able  to  give  to 
the  work,  between  three  and  four  thousand  dollars, 
mostly  in  cash,  and  a  conditional  pledge  of 
$25,000  from  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cochran,  of  Dawson, 
Pennsylvania,  for  a  ladies'  dormitory. 

On  a  certain  day  in  March,  1901,  President 
Sanders  entered  the  business  office  of  the  univer- 
sity and  said  that  an  inspiration  had  come  to  him 
that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  secure  pledges,  by 
the  time  of  the  approaching  commencement,  in 
June,  sufficient  to  pay  the  indebtedness  not  met  by 
the  success  of  the  Knox  plan,  amounting,  in  round 
numbers,  to  $63,000.  He  drew  from  his  pocket  a 
memorandum  book,  in  which  he  had  noted  down 
the  names  of  friends  of  the  university  supposed  to 
be  able  to  give  generous  sums,  with  the  amounts 
they  should  be  asked  to  give.  He  spoke  with  such 
earnestness  and  confidence,  and  expressed  such 
willingness  to  give  all  the  aid  in  his  power  in  mak- 
ing the  canvass,  that  it  was  agreed  to  make  the 
effort  as  soon  as  the  form  and  terms  of  pledges 

220 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

could  be  determined.  It  was  agreed  not  to  take 
any  account  of  the  old  contingent  assets,  amount- 
ing to  over  $23,000,  but  take  pledges  for  the  full 
$63,000,  conditioned  on  the  entire  sima  being 
pledged  by  the  time  of  the  adjournment  of  the 
board.  It  was  deemed  best  to  proceed  with  the 
canvass  without  much  publicity.  When  the  field 
secretary,  Mr.  Keister,  was  advised  of  the  effort 
he  warmly  approved,  and  promised  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  help  the  effort  to  success.  When  the 
pro  position  from  Mrs.  Cochran  for  a  ladies'  dormi- 
tory was  received  by  him,  the  conditions  were 
shaped  with  reference  to  this  debt-paying  effort. 
The  canvass  started  with  considerable  intensity 
and  the  responses  were  very  encouraging,  a  num- 
ber of  large  and  very  liberal  pledges  being  taken 
at  the  very  outset,  and  the  indications  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  effort  were  quite  cheering. 

Because  of  its  bearing  upon  this  canvass,  it 
seems  necessary  to  refer  here  to  a  relocation  con- 
test mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter.  At  the  ses- 
sion of  the  board  of  trustees  in  1900,  with  a  view 
to  improving  the  condition  of  the  university  finan- 
cially and  otherwise,  it  was  decided  to  open  the 
question  of  location,  and  invite  propositions  for 
the  removal  of  the  university,  should  sufficient  in- 
ducements be  offered.  The  information  in  the  busi- 
ness office,  from  sources  which  were  supposed  to 
be  reliable,  was  that  there  would  not  likely  be  any 
propositions  for  removal  presented  at  the  ensuing 
session  of  the  board.  This  information  proved  to 
be  a  mistake,  for  after  the  canvass  had  gotten  un- 
der good  headway,  at  very  near  the  date  on  which 

221 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  proposition  for  Cochran  Hall  was  received,  a 
circular  appeared  outlining  a  proposition  which 
was  taking  shape,  asking  for  the  removal  of  the 
university  to  grounds  adjoining  the  city  of  Day- 
ton, Ohio.  While  the  proposition  for  removal  was 
defeated,  the  contest  waged  over  it  delayed  the 
canvass,  and  it  was  not  until  January,  1902,  that 
conditions  seemed  favorable  to  resume  it.  Mean- 
while President  Sanders,  after  ten  years  of  very 
laborious  and  efficient  service,  had  retired  in  June, 
1901,  and  the  board  had  elected  Professor  George 
Scott,  who  since  1887  had  held  the  Latin  pro- 
fessorship, as  his  successor.  Professor  Scott  ac- 
cepted the  presidency  with  the  understanding  that 
he  continue  to  occupy  the  Latin  chair,  and  that  he 
be  not  expected  to  do  field  work.  Professor 
Sanders,  who  on  his  retirement  was  elected  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy,  and  who  before  his  retire- 
ment from  the  presidency  had  borne  so  large  and 
important  a  part  in  the  canvass,  the  completion  of 
which  had  been  interrupted  and  delayed  by  the 
relocation  contest,  stood  ready  to  give  all  possible 
aid  when  the  canvass  should  be  resumed.  This 
was  of  supreme  importance,  as  Professor  Sanders 
had  gained  such  a  knowledge  of  the  field,  and  such 
a  grasp  upon  the  situation  as  to  render  his  ser- 
vices indispensable.  There  was  no  agent  in  the 
field.  Rev.  Lawrence  Keister  ha"\ang  ceased  to 
serve  after  the  adjourned  session  of  the  board  in 
1901,  and  the  whole  financial  responsibility  de- 
volved upon  the  secretary  and  treasurer  who,  on 
account  of  office  duties,  could  give  but  part  of  his 
time  to  field  work.     So,  with  the  assurance  of  the 

222 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

help  and  cooperation  of  Professor  Sanders,  whose 
inspiration  had  first  prompted  the  canvass,  the 
plan  was  hastily  recast  early  in  January,  1902, 
fixing  the  amount  to  be  sought  at  $60,000,  which, 
with  over  $23,000  of  mostly  old  contingent  assets, 
was  regarded  ample  to  provide  for  the  complete 
payment  of  the  debt,  which  had  been  held  down  to 
a  little  less  than  $63,000.  Of  the  $60,000,  the 
sum  of  $40,000  was  conditioned  on  that  sum  being 
pledged  on  or  before  the  31st  of  May,  1902,  and 
the  remaining  $20,000  on  that  sum  being  pledged 
on  or  before  January  1,  1903.  Th§  problem, 
therefore,  was  to  secure  the  full  $60,000  in  one 
year,  from  January  to  January,  and  a  laborious 
campaign,  in  some  respects  more  strenuous  than 
the  Knox-plan  campaign,  was  again  on.  Much  im- 
portant work  had  been  done  in  the  effort  in  1901, 
but  it  all  had  to  be  done  over  again.  While  several 
large  pledges  were  lost  by  the  delay,  yet,  generally, 
all  who  had  given  pledges  in  1901  promptly  and 
cheerfully  renewed  them  in  1902.  While  the  help 
from  agents  and  volunteer  canvassers  was  not  as 
great  as  in  the  Knox-plan  canvass  of  1893-91,  yet 
there  was  important  and  valuable  help.  Kev.  W. 
W.  Eymer  became  an  agent  during  the  progress  of 
the  canvass,  and  gave  good  help.  Professor  Gustav 
Meyer,  the  director  of  the  Davis  Conservatory  of 
Music,  gave  splendid  volunteer  help  in  canvassing 
Westerville,  and  a  number  of  Columbus  friends 
gave  assistance  which  could  not  have  been  spared 
without  defeating  the  effort.  Besides  liberal 
pledges  to  the  $60,000,  they  spent  over  $1,000  in 
frescoing  the  chapel  and  painting  the  buildings. 

223 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

President  Scott  also  lent  a  helping  hand,  especially 
in  the  home  field.  By  May  31,  over  $40,000  had 
been  pledged,  and  so  became  valid,  and  began  to 
pour  into  the  treasury  of  the  university  at  a  most 
encouraging  rate.  The  canvass  for  the  remaining 
$20,000  was  taken  up  without  delay,  and  proved  a 
far  harder  task  than  it  had  been  to  secure  the 
$40,000,  and  when  New  Year's  Day,  1903,  ar- 
rived, there  was  still  an  uncomfortable  number  of 
thousands  of  dollars  short  of  the  $60,000.  One 
good  but  far-away  friend  telegraphed  a  pledge  of 
$1,000,  closing  his  telegram  with  the  words,  "let- 
ter follows  with  note."  A  final  hurry  canvass  of 
Westerville  was  made,  and  pledges  secured  which, 
with  those  taken  in  the  evening  at  a  meeting  held 
in  the  college  chapel,  added  about  $1,500,  and 
then  Professor  T.  J.  Sanders,  than  whom  no  one 
had  done  more  to  achieve  the  success  of  the  effort, 
ascended  the  same  platform  from  which  S.  E. 
Kumler,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  on  the  13th  day  of 
Jime,  1894,  had  announced  the  success  of  the 
Knox-plan  effort,  and  stated  that  two  noble 
friends  of  the  university,  John  Hulitt,  of  Hills- 
boro,  Ohio,  and  George  A.  Lambert,  of  Anderson, 
Indiana,  would,  in  addition  to  their  large  pledge, 
pay  the  $2,300  yet  needed  to  complete  the  $60,000, 
and  proclaimed  the  success  of  the  effort.  The  an- 
nouncement was  greeted  with  applause  and  re- 
joicing, though  far  less  tumultuous  than  when  the 
success  of  the  Knox  plan  was  announced.  The 
success  of  this  $60,000  effort  completed  the  work 
so  well  begim  by  the  Knox-plan  effort  in  providing 
the  means  for  the  complete  payment  of  the  debt  of 

224 


(iEORGE  SCOTT 

president  for  Tliree  Years  and  Professor  of  Latin 
for  Twenty  Years 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

the  university.  The  author  takes  higher  satisfac- 
tion in  no  act  of  his  over  five  years'  financial  man- 
agement, than  in  the  complete  payment  to  the 
endowment  fund  of  the  loan  made  from  it  to  the 
contingent  fund  many  years  before,  as  he  had 
always  insisted  that  it  must  be,  and  in  the  pay- 
ment of  the  last  note  bearing  personal  security. 
The  university,  wliile  always  poor,  and  often  in 
sore  straits,  has  always  preserv^ed  a  clear  record 
for  integrity  and  honesty  in  its  business,  and  has 
never  failed  to  pay  one  hundred  cents  on  the 
dollar  on  its  obligations.  ISTo  creditor  or  employee 
lias  ever  lost  a  dollar  by  the  university. 

President  Scott,  after  three  years  of  service,  re- 
tired, continuing  in  his  relation  as  professor  of 
Latin.  He  needs  no  higher  praise  than  to  say  that 
he  proved  himself  as  capable  and  faithful  in  the 
discharge  of  his  administrative  duties  while  pres- 
ident as  he  has  always  been  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  professor  of  Latin  in  his  twenty  years' 
career  as  a  member  of  the  faculty. 

On  the  retirement  of  President  Scott  the  board 
elected  as  his  successor  Rev.  L.  Bookwalter,  a  man 
who  had  behind  him  a  long  and  successful  career 
as  an  educator,  and  who  had  just  completed  a  term 
of  ten  years  as  president  of  Western  (now  Leander 
Clark)  College,  Toledo,  low^a.  President  Book- 
waiter,  since  coming  to  the  university,  has  given 
himself  almost  wholly  to  field  work,  and  the  board 
has  continued  to  avail  itself  of  the  administrative 
ability  of  Professor  Scott  by  electing  him  vice- 
president.  President  Bookwalter  has  well  main- 
tained the  forward  movement  of  the  university, 

15  225 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

and  his  administration  has  been  signalized  by 
keeping  the  current  expenses  within  the  income, 
not  by  scaling  down  the  salaries  of  professors  and 
other  employees,  and  so  crippling  the  work  and  the 
workers,  but  by  soliciting  the  money  necessary  to 
prevent  deficits;  by  the  renewing  of  the  proposi- 
tion for  a  ladies'  dormitory  increased  to  $30,000, 
and  the  solicitation  of  the  money  required  to  pro- 
vide an  imincumbered  site,  resulting  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  splendid  Philip  G.  Cochran  Memorial 
Hall,  now  occupied  by  young  lady  students ;  by  the 
proposition  of  $20,000  for  a  library  building  by 
Andrew  Carnegie,  and  the  securing  of  the  new  en- 
dowment to  meet  the  condition,  for  which  large 
credit  is  due  Dr.  W.  R.  Funk,  through  whom  lib- 
eral gifts  came  from  the  Keister  brothers,  B.  F. 
and  A.  L.,  and  from  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cochran;  by 
the  erection  of  a  heating-plant,  for  which  fine 
gifts  came  through  Dr.  Funk,  from  J.  W.  Ruth, 
the  Thomas  brothers,  W.  R.  and  J.  P.,  W.  W. 
Dempsey,  and  E.  M.  Gross ;  by  the  proposition 
of  $25,000  for  a  conser\'atory  and  art  building, 
also  through  Dr.  Funk,  from  George  A.  Lambert 
and  family.  All  these  things,  with  the  steady 
increase  in  attendance,  and  strengthening  of  the 
work  in  recent  years,  constitute  a  fine  array  of 
substantial  facts  over  which  to  rejoice  while  celer 
brating  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  university. 
The  professors  not  before  mentioned  who  have 
shared  in  the  work  in  the  past  years  are  Rev. 
W.  J.  Johnson,  who  served  as  principal  of  the 
preparatory  department  for  two  years,  from  1888 

226 


Review  of  the  Progress  Since  1860 

to  1890,  and  gave  special  attention  to  normal  work, 
in  which  he  was  an  expert. 

F.  E.  Miller,  of  the  class  of  1887,  who  began 
his  service  as  principal  of  the  preparatory  depart- 
ment and  adjunct  professor  of  mathematics,  in 
1890.  Since  1893  he  has  been  professor  of  mathe^ 
matics,  a  continuous  service  of  seventeen  years.  He 
succeeded  Professor  John  Haywood,  and  has  well 
maintained  his  department  at  the  level  to  which 
his  able  predecessor  had  brought  it  when  at  his 
best. 

Rudolpli  H.  Wagoner,  of  the  class  of  1892, 
came  into  the  faculty  as  instructor  in  Latin  and 
mathematics,  and  principal  of  the  preparatory  de- 
partment, in  1893.  He  is  a  faithful,  hard-work- 
ing, and  popular  teacher,  who  has  successfully 
handled  many  large  classes  in  his  fourteen  years 
of  service. 

T.  G.  McFadden,  of  the  class  of  1894,  served  as 
professor  of  natural  science  from  1898  to-  1900  in 
a  very  satisfactory  manner. 

W.  C.  Whitney,  of  the  class  of  1895,  a  capable 
and  versatile  teacher,  occupied  the  chair  of  biology 
and  geology  from  1900  tO'  1904.  He  was  succeeded 
by  E.  P.  Durrant,  of  the  class  of  1904,  the 
present  capable  incumbent. 

Charles  Suavely,  of  the  class  of  1894,  has  ser- 
ved as  professor  of  history  and  economics  since 
1900  with  growing  favor  and  appreciation  of  his 
work. 

^^  E.  Cometet,  of  the  class  of  1896,  came  into 
the  faculty  as  professor  of  Greek.  He  occupies  the 
chair   made   vacant   by   the   death   of   Professor 

227 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Guitner,  and  it  is  sufficient  to  sav  that  he  is  fill- 
ing it. 

And  now  the  difficult  chapter  is  written,  with 
what  success  the  reader  must  judge.  The  author 
realizes  that  there  is  not  a  favorable  word  about 
any  worker  that  is  not  deserved.  Rather^  he  real- 
izes that  there  is  scarcely  one  of  whom  more  that 
is  favorable  and  that  would  be  pleasant  to  read 
might  not  have  been  justly  said. 

In  order  that  there  may  be  no  omissions  and 
that  the  reader  may  see  at  a  glance  who  have  been 
officially  connected  with  the  work  and  who  have 
borne  a  part  in  the  past,  sixty  years,  a  complete  list 
w^ith  dates  of  service  is  given  in  appendix  A. 


228 


The  Church  in  Westerville 


CHAPTEK  XIII. 

The    United    Brethren     Church     in     Westerville — Christian 
Organizations   in   Otterbein   University. 

When  Otterbein  University  was  founded  in 
1847,  there  was  no  United  Brethren  church  in 
Westerville.  There  was  one  about  five  miles  east, 
near  liew  Albany,  then,  as  now,  an  appointment 
on  what  is  called  Albany  Circuit.  In  Westerville 
the  Methodist  Episcopal,  from.  v;hich  the  Blendon 
Young  Men's  Seminary  was  purchased,  was  the 
only  church.  The  United  Brethren  church  in 
Westerville  was  organized  in  1851,  four  years 
after  the  university  began  its  work.  President  L. 
Davis,  Rebecca  Davis,  his  wife,  D.  Bonebrake, 
Prof.  John  Haywood,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Price 
were  charter-members.  The  last  named  is  still 
living  and  is  a  resident  of  Westerville.  The  fact 
that  there  was  no  United  Brethren  church  in 
Westerville  for  the  first  four  years  does  not  mean 
that  the  university  was  conducted  during  that 
period  without  religious  services.  In  the  first 
catalogue,  a  4  x  6^-inch  pamphlet  of  twelve  pages, 
appear  these  paragraphs : 

"There  is  a  regular  Sabbath  preaching  at  the 
Methodist  church,  alternately  Methodist  and 
United  Brethren.  Lectures  on  moral  and  religious 
subjects  are  also  delivered   every  other   Sabbath 

229 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

afternoon.  Prayer-meetings  are  also  held  in  the 
institution  every  Thursday  evening. 

"Students  who  are  religious  are  assisted  and  en- 
couraged, and  those  who  are  not  religious,  sur- 
rounded by  religious  influence,  we  trust,  will 
take  knowledge  of  the  way  of  piety." 

The  preaching,  during  these  early  years,  was 
largely  done  by  Eev.  L.  Davis  and  the  agents  of  the 
school,  assisted  by  ministers  who  visited  the  school 
from  time  to  time.  At  the  session  of  the  Scioto 
Conference  in  1851,  the  Westerville  church  ap- 
pears for  the  first  time  with  the  name  of  Otterbein 
Station,  and  Rev.  L.  Davis,  who  had  been  elected 
president  in  1850,  was  appointed  as  the  first  pas- 
tor. So  we  find  that  Mr.  Davis,  who  has  appeared 
at  the  front  in  so  many  relations  in  the  university, 
at  the  front  also  in  the  work  of  the  Church  as  the 
first  regular  pastor.  And  so  the  local  church  in 
Westerville  began  its  career  with  a  college  presi- 
dent as  its  pastor,  a  minister  of  such  prominence 
and  distinction  that  the  General  Conference  two 
years  later  elected  him  to  the  office  of  a  bishop. 
Of  course,  with  his  many  duties  in  the  university, 
he  could  not  give  full  service  as  a  pastor,  but  he 
was  in  charge,  and  he  was  expected  to  provide  for 
the  pulpit  when  he  could  not  himself  occupy  it. 
The  agents,  who  at  this  early  period  were,  without 
exception,  ministers,  were  expected  to  respond 
when  called  upon  and  preach  without  compensa- 
tion, the  services  being  regarded  as  largely  part  of 
the  college  work.  In  this  way  the  wants  of  the 
charge  were  very  well  met.  As  this  local  church 
has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  important 

230 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

in  the  denomination,  so  it  has  been  served  by  some 
of  the  ablest  and  the  most  distinguished  ministers 
of  the  Church  as  its  pastors.  The  services  were 
held  in  the  chapel  of  the  white  frame  building 
which  had  been  enlarged  by  building  on  an  exten- 
sion, and  in  the  catalogue  for  1852  there  appear 
these  paragraphs  relating  Uy  the  religious  services 
in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  university: 

"Preaching  in  the  college  chapel  every  Sabbath 
morning  at  half  past  ten  o'clock,  at  which  every 
student  is  required  to  be  present,  unless  parents  or 
guardians  have  requested  that  they  should  attend 
some  other  church. 

"Morning  worship  each  day  of  the  week  at  half 
past  eight  o'clock  in  the  college  chapel.  All  the 
pupils  are  required  to  attend. 

"Prayer-meetings  every  Wednesday  evening; 
class-meetings  every  Sabbath  in  the  afternoon; 
Bible  classes  and  Sabbath-school  classes  every  Sab- 
bath at  nine  o'clock,  at  which  all  have  the  privilege 
of  attending. 

"During  the  college  year  now  closing,  the  insti- 
tution has  been  visited  by  a  gracious  revival  of 
religion.  Many  of  the  students  became  the  sub- 
jects of  this  work  of  grace." 

The  college  chapel  in  the  white  frame  building 
was  used  for  the  religious  services  of  the  Church 
and  university  for  many  years  until  the  new  main 
college-building  was  erected,  the  chapel  of  which, 
however,  was  not  in  readiness  for  services  until  in 
the  '60's.  Many  memorable  services  were  held  in 
this  old  chapel  which  those  who  took  part  in  them 
will  never  forget.     The  revival  of  religion  men- 

231 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

tioned  in  tlie  last  paragraph  quoted  above  was  an 
early  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  evangelism 
which  has  appeared  again  and  again  all  along  the 
line  of  the  history  of  the  university  in  deep  and 
widespread  spiritual  awakenings,  especially  among 
the  students.  Indeed,  it  has  not  been  an  uncom- 
mon thing  for  revivals  tO'  occur  so  sweeping  that 
scarcely  a  student  would  be  left  in  the  ranks  of 
the  impenitent.  On  one  occasion  a  Presbyterian 
minister  by  the  name  of  Boggs,  in  the  far-away 
State  of  New  Jersey,  reading  an  account  of  one  of 
these  revivals,  was  so  impressed  that  he  sent  two 
of  his  sons  tO'  the  university  in  the  hope  that  they 
would  be  won  to  Christ.  He  was  not  disappointed, 
for,  soon  after  entering,  both  of  them  professed 
faith  in  Christ  and  one  of  them  graduated  and  be- 
came a  Presbyterian  minister.  In  another  of  these 
revivals  the  interest  was  so  general  that  the  chapel 
of  the  old  white  building  was  thronged  night  after 
night  with  eager  worshipers,  and  in  the  altar 
services  as  many  as  seventy  inquirers  at  one  time 
presented  themselves,  filling  the  front  seats  for 
four  or  five  tiers  back.  In  one  of  these  altar  serv- 
ices ex-Bishop  Hanby  observed  a  student  counting 
out  money  to  his  companion  by  his  side.  Suspect- 
ing a  case  of  sham  penitence  and  brazen  mockery, 
he  knelt  beside  the  student  and  demanded  an  ex- 
planation of  his  strange  conduct.  He  promptly 
and  franldy  proceeded  to  explain  that  he  had  de- 
frauded his  companion  in  a  business  transaction 
and  that  he  was  engaged  making  it  right  by  resti- 
tution in  order  that  he  might  obtain  peace  with 
God.     Where  penitence  took  such  a  radical  and 

232 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

practical  form,  the  reader  will  not  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  lives  of  earnest  piety  and  active  service 
followed.  The  author  came  tO'  the  university  from 
the  First  Church  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  of  which  Rev. 
Wm.  E..  Rhineliart,  the  first  editor  of  the  Religious 
Telescope,  a  preacher  of  no  mean  ability,  at  the 
time  was  pastor,  and  he  remeimbers  with  grateful 
appreciation  how  some  doubts  and  difficulties 
whieli  had  perplexed  and  worried  him  were 
cleared  by  the  simple  and  luminous  presentation 
of  the  terms  and  way  of  salvation  by  some  of  the 
able  preachers  who  from  time  to  time  occupied  the 
pulpit  of  the  university  church. 

Eev.  W.  W.  Davis,  the  father  of  Rev.  W.  J. 
Davis  of  the  Southeast  Ohio,  and  Rev.  A.  E. 
Davis  of  the  Sandusky  Conference,  who'  had  the 
distinction  of  receiving  Rev.  L.  Davis  into  the 
United  Brethren  Church,  was  sent  tO'  Otterbein 
Station  in  IS 52,  as  the  successor  of  President 
Davis  in  the  pastorate.  He  was  an  able  sermon- 
izer  and  had  a  very  successful  year  as  pastor.  At 
a  later  date  he  served  a  longer  term  as  pastor.  In 
1853,  the  conference  attached  tO'  Otterbein  Station 
what  was  called  Blendon  Mission  and  sent  Re:. 
Israel  Sloane  and  Rev.  A.  Shisler,  both  of  whom 
had  been  students  in  the  university,  to  serve  the 
charge.  In  1854,  the  conference  sent  Rev.  J.  S. 
Davis  as  the  pastor,  who'  also  served  the  charge  in 
later  years.  Rather  frequently  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  Church  in  Westendlle,  after  the  name 
''Otterbein  Station,"  the  words  "to  be  supplied," 
were  found  in  the  stationing  committee's  report, 
which,  in  those  early  days,  usually  meant  that  the 

233 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

president  and  agents  of  the  university,  mth  other 
resident  ministers,  would  supply  the  pulpit.  In 
1856,  President  Davis  again  appears  as  the  pastor 
appointed  by  the  conference.  This  appointment 
added  to  the  responsibility  of  president  of  the  uni- 
versity and  bishop  of  the  Church  that  of  pastor, 
and  it  is  plain  that  the  relation  must  have  been 
largely  nominal,  while  the  preaching  and  other 
work  of  a  pastor  must  have  been  chiefly  done  by 
others.  In  1857,  Rev.  J.  H.  Brundage  was  sent 
as  pastor  and  gave  his  whole  time  to  the  work  of 
the  charge.  In  1859,  Rev.  Alexander  Owen,  who 
in  1858  was  elected  president  of  the  university, 
was  appointed  pastor  by  the  presiding  elder,  and 
liis  was  the  last  of  the  pastorates  in  what,  in  pre- 
vious chapters,  has  been  called  the  pioneer  period 
of  the  university,  extending  to  1860. 

It  is  thus  plain  that  religious  interests  were 
carefully  looked  after  from  the  very  beginning. 
The  apprehensions,  described  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter, which  some  felt  lest  the  work  of  higher  educa- 
tion should  prove  injurious  to  spirituality  and 
vital  godliness  in  the  Church,  doubtless  prompted 
to  greater  care  and  effort  to  guard  against  harm. 

The  fathers  who  founded  Otterbein  University 
were  men  of  faith  and  prayer  and  entered  upon 
the  work  with  the  high  purpose  of  making  it  tell 
in  the  upbuilding  of  a  live,  spiritual  Church  which 
should  be  an  efficient  instrument  in  extending  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore, 
tliat  tlie  missionary  spirit  early  manifested  itself. 
The  board  of  trustees,  at  its  session  in  1852, 
adopted  the  following  resolution : 

234 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

"Resolved,  That  the  board  approve  of  a  mission- 
ary society  at  Otterbein  University  to  be  auxiliary 
to  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ." 

This  action  was  remarkable  in  that  it  antici- 
pated the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1853,  which  organized  the  Home,  Frontier,  and 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Church.  The 
missionary  spirit  was  astir  in  the  Church  at  the 
time,  especially  in  the  Sandusky  Conference, 
which  came  into  cooperation  with  the  university 
during  its  first  year  in  1847.  Rev.  John  C. 
Bright,  who  may  with  propriety  be  called  the 
father  of  the  organized  missionary  work  of  the 
Church,  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  university  by 
the  Sandusky  Conference  in  1850,  and  attended 
the  board  session  in  1852.  It  is  probable  that  he 
inspired,  if  he  did  not  write  the  resolution  above 
quoted.  His  zeal  as  a  friend  and  advocate  of  Ot- 
terbein University  was  only  second  tO'  his  zeal  as 
a  champion  of  missions.  He  early  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Westerville,  and  his  influence  did  much 
to  kindle  and  maintain  the  missionary  spirit  in 
the  schools,  as  his  labors  as  General  Missionary 
Secretary,  to  which  position  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1853  elected  him,  did  much  to  stir  the 
whole  Church  on  the  subject  of  missions  as  it 
never  had  been  stirred  before,  and  seldom  has 
been  since.  So  the  first  Christian  organization  in 
the  university  aside  from  the  Church,  of  which 
students  became  members,  was  a  missionary  soci- 
ety. A  report  of  this  society  published  in  the  Re- 
ligious Telescope  in  1855,  states  that  it  had  at  that 

235 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

time  fivei  life  members  and  sixty  annual  members, 
with  $109.21  cash  in  the  treasury,  and  $42.25 
dues  subscribed,  or  a  total  of  $151.46.  The  re- 
port is  signed  by  B.  R.  Hanby  as  secretary.  The 
society  held  stated  meetings  at  which  papers  were 
read  on  missionary  topics  and  appropriate  ad- 
dresses were  delivered  by  representative  men  of 
the  Church.  At  the  meeting  reported,  ex-Bishop 
Wm.  Hanby  delivered  an  address,  and  General 
Missionary  Secretary  John  C.  Bright  was  an- 
nounced for  an  address  at  the  next  meeting.  In 
this  way  the  students,  during  this  pioneer  period, 
while  prosecuting  their  studies  had  their  attention 
directed  to  the  gTeat  iield  of  service  for  which  a 
Christian  college  especially  is  presumed  to  be 
training  workers.  Doubtless  the  interest  thus 
awakened  and  the  training  thus  imparted  go  far  to 
explain  the  vigorous  organization  and  the  exten- 
sive operations  of  the  Church  in  missionary  work 
since.  True,  the  society  was  not  permanent  and 
long  since  has  ceased  to  exist,  but  it  prepared  the 
way  for  other  and  better  organizations  through 
which  missionary  activity  has  since  been  pro- 
moted. 

Another  society  which  dates  back  to  this  pioneer 
period  was  a  so-called  theological  society,  com- 
posed of  those  students  who  were  preparing  for 
the  ministry.  This  was  of  especial  importance  at 
that  early  day  because  the  Church  then  had  no 
theological  seminary,  and  those  who  felt  called  to 
the  ministry  were  obliged  to  secure  preparation 
as  they  could  througli  such  a  society  or  go  to  the 
seminary  of  some  other  church.      The  drill  and 

236 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

discipline  thus  imparted  was  far  inferior  to  a 
course  in  a  theological  seminary,  yet  it  was  far 
better  than  to  go  forth  without  any  special  prep- 
aration at  all.  This  theolog-ical  society  was  useful 
also  in  moderating  and  correcting  the  absurd  no- 
tion that  the'  university  must  do*  or  permit  noth- 
ing which  aims  to  qualify  students  for  the  work 
of  preaching  the  gospel,  a  notion  which  was  widely 
prevalent  in  the  early  years  of  the  university  as 
was  shown  in  pi-evious  chapters ;  as  if  it  were 
right  for  a  Christian  college  to  qualify  students 
for  secular  callings  such  as  law,  medicine,  or  busi- 
ness, but  by  no  means  for  a  sacred  calling  such  as 
the  ministry.  It  was  sufficient  for  these  preju- 
diced people  toi  come  in  contact  with  some  of  the 
zealous  young  students  who,  not  content  to  make 
the  utmost  of  the  regular  studies  of  the  university 
to  equip  themselves  as  heralds  of  the  gospel,  were 
seeking  special  preparation  by  devoting  themselves 
to  the  labors  and  studies  of  this  theological  society 
to  forever  deliver  them  from  their  irrational  fears 
and  prejudices.  In  this  respect  the  members  of 
this  theological  society  offered  a  very  wholesome 
object-lesson. 

Since  1860  some  sixteen  or  seventeen  different 
pastors  have  served  the  college  congregation,  begin- 
ning with  Rev.  Solomon  W.  Zeller  of  the  class  of 
1859,  the  oldest  living  graduate  of  the  university, 
not  as  a  graduate,  but  as  a  man,  he  being  at  this 
writing  nearly  eighty-two  years  old,  who  served 
during  the  year  1861-62.  For  the  year  1862-63, 
the  phrase  "to  be  supplied,"  hides  the  real  pastor 
of  Otterbein  Station,  but  in  1864  that  prince  of 

237 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

preachers,  Rev.  Jonatlian  Weaver,  was  appointed 
pastor  by  the  presiding  elder.  As  he  vt^as  at  the 
same  time  general  financial  agent  of  the  university 
it  is  plain  that  others  must  have  done  most  of  the 
preaching  and  other  work  of  the  charge.  In  1865, 
the  General  Conference  which  met  that  year  lifted 
him  out  of  both  the  college  agency  and  the  pastor- 
ate by  electing  him  a  bishop  of  the  Churcli. 

To'  give  the  history  of  the  labors  of  the  dif- 
ferent pastors  down  to  date  w^ould  involve  much 
repetition  and  sameness,  and  it  is  deemed  best  to 
record  the  names  of  the  pastors,  noting  points  of 
especial  interest  and  importance,  especially  in  the 
longer  pastorates.  Rev.  Wra.  Fisher,  a  faithful 
minister  of  the  Scioto  Conference  was  appointed 
as  the  successor  of  Rev.  J.  Weaver  in  1865.  He 
was  followed  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Resler  during  whose 
pastorate  there  occurred  a  revival  which  swept  the 
college  and  largely  the  community,  resulting  in  a 
large  ingathering  of  members.  He  was  followed 
by  Rev.  Wm.  Millar  in  1867.  The  pastorate  of 
Rev.  J.  G.  Bowersox,  a  preacher  of  striking  origi- 
nality and  power,  followed  in  1869.  He  was  an 
advanced  student  of  the  university  who  never 
failed  tO'  attract  and  interest,  and  his  pastorate  was 
signalized  by  a  powerful  revival.  A  typical  case 
in  connection  with  this  revival  is  well  worth  re- 
cording. There  came  to  the  university  in  the  fall 
of  1869  a  quartet  of  young  men  to  pursue  a  course 
of  studies  with  a  view  to  graduation.  They  came 
in  late,  and  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  author,  who  had 
just  begun  his  work  as  professor  of  Latin,  to  coach 
them  up  so  that  they  could  join  the  regular  class 

238 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

in  Latin  for  tiiat  year,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction 
later  of  seeing  three  of  the  four,  W,  M.  Beard- 
shear,  H.  L.  Frank,  and  A.  B.  Hahn,  graduate. 
The  typical  case  was  W.  M.  Beardshear,  from  near 
Dayton,  Ohio.  He  had  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the 
Cumberland  when  a  lad  of  but  fourteen  years,  and 
before  coming  to  the  university,  though  belonging 
to  one  of  the  best  families  of  the  Church,  through 
evil  associations  had  become  somewhat  wayward, 
and  he  was  sent  to  the  university,  as  has  not  been 
uncommon,  quite  as  much  with  the  hope  that  he 
would  become  a  Christian  as  that  he  would  become 
a  scholar.  His  fine  mental  endowment  quickly  be- 
came apparent.  He  applied  himself  closely  to  his 
studies  and  made  rapid  progress  with  only  one  or 
two  outbreaks  of  waywardness  to  give  the  faculty 
anxiety,  before  this  revival  meeting.  The  meet- 
ings began  in  the  winter  vacation,  and  to  the  great 
joy  of  his  friends,  W.  M.  Beardshear  was  one  of 
the  first  trophies.  He  immediately  became  one  of 
the  most  zealous  and  effectual  workers  of  the  meet- 
ing, and  indeed  throughout  his  course  in  the  uni- 
versity. After  graduating  with  high  honor  with 
the  class  of  1876,  he  immediately  entered  upon 
the  work  of  the  ministry  in  the  Miami  Conference 
of  the  United  Brethren  Church.  After  two  years 
he  entered  Yale  College  to  pursue  theological  and 
other  post-graduate  studies.  After  two  years' 
study  in  Yale,  he  became  pastor  of  Summit  Street 
United  Brethren  Church  in  Dayton,  Ohio'.  Before 
a  year  of  ser^uce  was  completed,  in  1881,  he  was 
elected  president  of  Western  College,  Iowa,  in 
which  position  he  served  with  growing  distinction 

239 


History  of  Otterbeiu  University 

for  eight  years.  He  then  served  as  superinteindent 
of  the  schools  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  for  two  years, 
when  he  was  elected  president  of  Iowa  State  Agri- 
cultural College  at  Ames,  which  grew  and  pros- 
pered greatly  under  his  brilliant  administration  of 
eleven  years,  which  was  terminated  by  his  death. 
While  he  held  his  position,  honors  and  responsi- 
bilities were  crowded  thick  upon  him.  Pie  was  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Indian  Coimnission 
for  five  years  ;  juror  on  educational  rewards  at  the 
Pan-American  Exposition,  Buffalo,  ISTew  York; 
Director  of  the  ]Srational  Educational  Association 
from  Iowa  for  a  number  of  years ;  president  of  the 
Department  of  Manual  Industry  and  Training  fo7' 
one  3'ear,  and,  finally,  president  of  the  National 
Educational  Association,  his  annual  address  be- 
fore which  was  the  last  achievement  of  his  perhaps 
over-strained,  certainly  breaking  powers,  as  he 
died  soon  after  on  the  fifth  of  August,  1902. 
How  great  a  distinction  this  last  position  Avas  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  association  elected 
as  his  successor  Charles  Eliot,  then,  as  now,  the 
distinguished  president  of  Harvard  University. 
Though  he  lived  to  be  only  fifty-one  years  old,  he 
left  behind  him  a  record  of  a  quarter  of  a  century 
of  such  distinguished  service  as  it  falls  to  the  lot 
of  few  men  to  render.  In  gifts  and  service.  Doctor 
Beardshear  far  outshone  most  of  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  Otterbein  University,  but  in  his  in- 
tense loyalty  to  his  alma  mater,  in  his  high  pur- 
pose to  serve  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability  his  God, 
his  Church,  and  his  felloAVTuen  generally,  he  but 
exhibited  the  common  characteristics  of  the  stu- 

240 


^'N^'i 


l\lKS.  SARAH  COCHKA^ 

A  Lilieiiil  honor  to  the  ITniversity,  and  the  Fonnder  of  the 
C'ociiniii    Hall  foi'  Voiiiig  Ladies 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

dents  and  graduates  of  the  university  tlirougk  all 
the  past  sixty  years  of  its  history. 

When  the  revival  meeting  under  the  labors  of 
Pastor  Bowersox  was  at  the  height  of  its  interest, 
after  the  congregation  had  dispersed  at  a  late  hour 
on  the  evening  of  January  25,  1870,  at  a  very 
early  hour  on  January  26,  the  fire  occurred  as 
stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  which  entirely  de- 
stroyed the  new  main  building  with  nearly  all  its 
contents.  The  meetings  were  continued  for  a  time 
in  the  Presbyterian  church,  kindly  tendered  for 
the  purpose,  and  then  the  old  white  chapel  was 
again  used  until  the  present  main  building  was 
erected,  the  chapel  of  which  has  been  used  ever 
since  for  church  services.  The  United  Brethren 
Church  of  Westerville  never  has  had  a  church- 
building  but  has  always  held  its  services  in  the 
university  chapel,  first  in  the  white  frame  building 
down  tO'  about  1860,  then  in  the  chapel  of  the  main 
building  destroyed  until  1870,  and  since  1871  in 
the  present  main  building.  The  members  of  the 
Church  in  Westerville  have  contributed  money 
enough  to  erect  four  or  five  church-buildings  as 
good  as  the  best  now  in  Westerville,  but  they  con- 
tributed it  to  the  university  with  the  understand- 
ing in  the  case  of  the  building  destroyed  and  the 
present  main  building,  that  they  should  have  the 
use  of  the  chapel  for  religious  services  without 
cost  except  a  fair  share  of  the  expense  of  fuel, 
light  and  janitor  service,  and  that  the  university 
as  such  should  have  the  benefit  of  these  church 
services  without  cost.  It  has  been  contended  that 
this    arrangement  strengthens    the   bond    between 

16  241 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

the  Churcli  and  the  university,  and  enables  the 
Church  to  exert  a  greater  influence  over  the  youth 
who  attend  the  institution  to  win  them  to  Christ, 
as  is  fit  in  a  Christian  college  supported  by  the 
Church.  Others  have  contended  that  it  would  be 
better  to  have  a  building  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
services  of  the  Church  and  there  has  been  consider- 
able agitation  from  time  to  time  for  the  erection 
of  a  church-building. 

At  the  end  of  one  year  of  service  Mr.  Bower- 
sox,  desiring  to  complete  his  course  of  studies  in 
the  university,  retired  from  the  pastorate  and 
graduated  with  tlie  class  of  1871.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  E.  S.  Chapman  from  the  bounds 
of  the  iNorth  Ohio  Conference.  The  church  at 
Westerville  was  his  first  pastorate,  which  he  served 
with  great  ability  and  success  from  1870  to  1874. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  fine  intellectual  gifts  and 
exceptional  oratorical  power.  He  had  gained  a 
large  knowledge  of  pubKc  affairs  by  living  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  Washington  City  where  he  served 
as  private  secretary  to  Congressman  James  Ash- 
ley, and  as  a  Washington  newspaper  correspond- 
ent. After  closing  his  service  with  the  church 
at  Westerville,  he  served  a  number  of  years  as  pas- 
tor of  the  First  United  Brethren  Church  of  Day- 
ton, Ohio.  He  has  gained  a  national  reputation 
as  a  temperance  orator,  being  at  this  time  one  of 
the  superintendents  of  the  Anti-Saloon  League  for 
the  State  of  California.  His  interest  in  the 
church  at  Westei'ville  and  in  the  university  con- 
tinues unabated.  As  a  recent  expression  of  his  in- 
terest in  the  university,  he  has  established  a  li- 

242 


The  Church  in  WesterviUe 

brary  of  Lincoln  literature  in  connection  witli  the 
library  of  the  university. 

Mr.  Chapman  was  followed  by  another  young 
man  destined  to  great  usefulness  and  high  distinc- 
tion in  the  United  Brethren  Church.  It  was  J.  S. 
Mills,  Avho  was  pastor  first  for  six  years,  from 
1874  to  1880,  and  then  after  an  interval  of  five 
years,  during  which  Rev.  J.  A.  Weller  of  the  class 
of  1876,  served  one  year  when  he  was  elected  to  a 
professorship  in  Western  College,  Iowa,  and  Rev. 
Frank  A.  Ramsey,  of  the  class  of  1873,  served 
four  years,  he  returned  as  pastor  for  two  years. 
Mr.  Mills,  therefore,  served  for  eight  years,  which 
is  the  record  period  in  tlie  past  sixty  years.  It  was 
during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Mills  that  both  the 
attempts  to  establish  a  saloon  in  WesterviUe,  de- 
scribed in  a  previous  chapter,  were  made,  and  Mr. 
Mills  bore  a  full  and  honorable  parti  in  defeating 
the  attempts,  though  he  did  not  share  with  his  co- 
pastors  of  the  Methodist  and  Presbyterian 
churches  the  distinction  of  being  arrested  and  pros- 
ecuted by  the  saloon-keeper.  His  pastorate,  which 
was  one  of  the  most  successful,  as  well  as  the 
longest  in  the  history  of  the  church  and  college, 
closed  in  1887,  when  Mr.  Mills  was  elected  to  a 
professorship  in  Western  College,  Iowa,  and  three 
years  later  to  the  presidency  of  the  same  college, 
and  three  years  later,  in  1893,  to  the  office  of  a 
bishop  of  the  Church,  in  which  position  he  now 
holds  the  rank  of  senior  bishop. 

Rev.  W.  J.  Davis,  son  of  one  of  the  early  pastors 
of  the  church  at  WesterviUe,  succeeded  Mr.  Mills, 
serving  for  one  year,  when  Rev.  R.  L.  Swain,  a 

243 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

graduate  of  Western  College,  loAva,  and  of  Union 
Biblical  Seminary,  came  from  Yale  College,  where 
lie  had  spent  a  year  in  post-graduate  study,  as  his 
successor.  Mr.  Swain  had  attracted  attention  as 
an  able  preacher  and  stirring  evangelist  while  pur- 
suing his  studies  in  the  Seminary  at  Dayton,  Ohio. 
On  taking  charge  of  the  church  at  Westerville,  he 
quickly  won  great  popularity.  His  sermons, 
always  able,  were  at  times  masterpieces.  Under 
his  ministry  large  numbers,  especially  among  the 
young,  were  won  to  Christ  and  received  into  the 
church.  Probably  no  pastor  before  or  since  had  a 
more  devoted  personal  following  than  he.  During 
the  closing  years  of  his  pastorate  some  of  his  ser- 
mons disturbed  the  conser^^ative  members  of  the 
church.  They  seemed  to  feel  that  he  outgrew  him- 
self so  quickly,  and,  in  the  language  of  the  courts, 
reversed  himself  sometimes  so  suddenly  that  they 
could  not  follow  him.  This  produced  more  or  less 
friction,  and,  probably,  explains  why,  on  retiring 
from  the  pastorate  of  the  Westerville  United 
Brethren  Church,  he  joined  the  Congregational- 
ists,  for  whom  he  has  ever  since  preached. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Swain  in  1893,  he 
was  succeeded  by  Eev.  W.  O.  Fries,  a  graduate  of 
Lebanon  Valley  College  and  member  of  the  San- 
dusky Conference.  He  served  faithfully  for  four 
years,  the  last  year,  during  which  there  was  a  very 
gracious  revival  of  religion,  proving  the  most  suc- 
cessful and  best. 

On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Tries  in  1897,  Bev.  L. 
r.  John,  of  the  class  of  1883,  a  graduate  of  Yale 
Theological  Seminary,  followed  by  a  year  of  other 

244 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

post-graduate  study  in  Yale,  came  from  a  seven- 
years'  pastorate  at  Johnstown,  Pa.,  and  ser\^ed  the 
church  at  Westerville  very  faithfully  and  ably  for 
four  years,  when  he  was  elected  to  a  professorship 
in  Lebanon  Valley  College.  Eev.  W.  G.  Stiver- 
son,  of  the  class  of  1897,  and  a  graduate  of  Union 
Biblical  Seminary,  succeeded  to  the  charge  and 
served  for  four  years,  well  maintaining  the  stand- 
ard of  fidelity  and  efficiency  established  by  his 
predecessors.  In  1905,  Eev.  Henry  Garst,  of  the 
class  of  1861,  after  thirty-six  years  of  continuous 
service  for  the  university  as  professor,  as  presi- 
dent, and  as  financial  manager,  served  one  year  as 
pastor,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  pas- 
tor, Rev.  S.  F.  Daugherty,  a  graduate  of  Lebanon 
Valley  College  and  Union  Biblical  Seminary, 
w-hose  pastorate  has  had  a  very  auspicious  begin- 
ning. 

It  has  seemed  well  to  give  this  brief,  but  com- 
prehensive account  of  the  men  who  for  the  past 
sixty  years  have  occupied  a  pulpit  second  to  none 
in  the  denomination  in  importance ;  who  have  rep- 
resented the  Church  in  giving  to  the  university  a 
Christian,  but  not  sectarian  character;  who  have 
preached  the  gospel  not  simply  to  the  resident 
members  of  the  church,  but  to  generation  after 
generation  of  students  upon  whom  they  have  so 
successfully  enforced  the  obligations  of  a  life  of 
service  to  God  and  their  fellow-men,  that  when 
they  have  gone  forth  into  the  world  they  have  quite 
generally  taken  their  places  somewhere  in  the 
ranks  of  the  champions  of  truth  and  right. 

245 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

While  the  interests  of  religion  have  always  had 
a  large  place  in  the  attention  of  the  students  of 
Otterbein  University,  yet,  aside  from  the  mission- 
ary society  and  theological  society,  before  men- 
tioned, their  religious  activities  during  the  early 
history  of  the  university  found  expression  only  in 
the  regular  church  services,  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
in  the  class-meetings,  and  in  the  mid-week  prayer- 
meetings.  Later,  both  the  gentleman  and  lady  stu- 
dents organized  prayer-meetings  of  their  own, 
which  met  weekly  in  some  of  the  recitation-rooms, 
which  were  attended  with  fair  but  varying  faith- 
fulness; but  in  1877,  when  the  national  convention 
of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  met  in 
Louisville,  Ky.,  an  invitation  was  extended  to  the 
colleges  of  the  country  to  send  representatives  with 
a  view  to  organizing  a  college  department  of 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.  E.  A. 
Starkey,  then  a  student  in  the  university,  attended 
the  convention,  and  was  the  only  college  represen- 
tative from  Ohio,  so  that  Otterbein  University  was 
tlie  only  Ohio  college  represented.  It  was  the  priv- 
ilege of  Mr.  Starkey  to  assist  in  organizing  the 
college  department  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  and,  on  his  return  from  the  conven- 
tion, to  join  with  his  fellow-Christian  students  in 
organizing  the  first  College  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  in  Ohio.  Five  years  later,  in 
1882,  largely  through  the  influence  and  counsel  of 
Secretary  L.  D.  Wishard,  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations,  and  Professor  E.  L. 
Shuey,  at  the  time  principal  of  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  university,  the  yoimg  lady  stu- 

246 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

dents  of  the  university  organized  the  first  College 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association  in  Ohio, 
and  the  third  in  the  United  States. 

In  1883,  the  State  convention  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  met  in  Mt.  Vernon, 
not  far  from  Westerville.  ISTational  Secretary  L. 
D.  Wishard  urged  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  in  the  university  to  send  delegates  to 
advocate  the  organization  of  similar  associations  in 
the  other  colleges  of  the  State.  Six  girls  were 
sent  and  were  given  a  cordial  hearing.  The  six 
girls,  with  their  present  names  in  parenthesis, 
were  Emma  Bender  (Kumler),  Jessie  Thompson 
(Bogle),  Justina  Lorenz  (Stevens),  Jessie  Ozias 
(Smith),  Ida  Gilbert  (Fall),  and  Fanny  Beal 
(Bonebrake).*  It  is  reported  that  Miss  Fanny 
Beal,  in  her  earnest  address  to  the  convention,  sup- 
ported her  contention  with  the  argument  that  "no 
one  can  reach  a  girl's  heart  like  a  girl."  N'otwith- 
standing  the  seriousness  of  the  occasion,  it  is  said 
that  the  young  men  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
to  question  the  soundness  of  the  argument !  and  the 
parenthetic  names  which  all  these  girl  delegates 
acquired  not  many  years  after,  would  seem  to  vin- 
dicate the  young  men's  skepticism. 

Otterbein  University  also  has  the  distinction  of 
furnishing  the  first  State  secretary  of  the  College 
Young  Women's  Associations,  in  the  person  of 
Miss  N'ellie  S.  Knox  (now  Mrs.  Professor  F.  E. 
Miller).  She  served  in  this  position  for  two  years, 
from  1887  to  1889,  giving,  however,  only  a  portion 

*The  author  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Professor  F.  E.  Miller 
for   these    names. 

247 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

of  her  time  to  the  work.  It  is  certainly  gratifying 
to  the  friends  of  Otterbein  University  that  the  in- 
stitution has  had  such  an  honorable  position  of 
leadership  in  the  College  Christian  Association 
work  of  the  State;  but  the  fine  record  is  not  yet 
complete.  The  first  presidents'  conference  of  the 
College  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of 
Ohio  was  held  at  Otterbein  University  in  April, 
1892.  These  conferences  were  intended  as  train- 
ing-schools in  methods  of  work,  especially  for  the 
presidents  and  secretaries  of  these  associations. 
At  the  conference  in  Westerville,  presided  over  by 
Professor  E.  L.  Shuey,  chairman  of  the  college 
committee  of  the  State,  Secretaries  L.  E.  Doggett 
and  S.  D.  Gordon  and  International  Secretary 
John  R.  Mott  were  present  as  teachers,  and  the 
Association  officers  were  carefully  instructed  and 
drilled  for  the  performance  of  their  duties.  It 
was  an  extremely  interesting  conference,  composed 
of  thirty-six  representatives  from  twenty-six  col- 
leges, and  doubtless  accomplished  much  good.  At 
the  time  of  the  presidents'  conference  in  1892,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  the  univer- 
sity was  already  fifteen,  and  the  Young  Women's 
ten  years'  old.  Eor  a  number  of  years  they  held 
their  meetings  in  different  recitation-rooms.  This 
was  not  satisfactory  and  they  appealed  to  the  fac- 
ulty to  assigii  them  a  room  for  their  exclusive  use, 
that  they  might  suitably  fit  and  furnish  it.  The 
northeast  room,  second  floor,  of  the  main  building 
was  assigned  them,  and  they  proceeded  promptly 
to  paper,  carpet,  and  otherwise  furnish  it.  Here, 
on  different  evenings,  the  associations  held  their 

248 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

meetings  until  tlie  association  building  was  erec- 
ed.  The  assignment  of  a  room  seemed  to 
quicken  the  interest  of  the  associations,  the  attend- 
ance increased  so  that  the  room  was  at  times 
uncomfortably  crowded,  and  the  meetings  were 
characterized  by  great  spiritual  interest  and 
power.  From  time  to  time  the  question  of  a  build- 
ing for  the  associations  was  agitated.  Increased 
interest  in  athletics  also  caused  the  need  of  a  gym- 
nasimn  building  to  be  keenly  felt.  During  the 
presidents'  conference,  International  Secretary 
John  E.  Mott  delivered  an  address  on  the  impor- 
tance of  Christian  Association  buildings,  in  which 
he  contended  that  they  would  give  to  Christian 
work  in  the  college  greater  prominence,  perma- 
nence, popularity,  dignity,  unity,  and  breadth,  and 
that  they  would  afford  a  home  for  the  students  in 
which  they  would  form  some  of  the  strongest  and 
most  wholesome  social  ties  of  their  college  career. 
The  address  greatly  stimulated  interest  in  the 
building  project.  The  one  great  obstacle  in  the 
way,  so  far  as  the  university  was  concerned,  was 
the  burdensome  and  embarrassing  debt,  which,  as 
before  stated,  had,  in  1892,  the  time  of  the  confer- 
ence, reached  the  startling  aggregate  of  over 
$114,000.  It  was  agreed,  on  all  hands,  that  noth- 
ing dare  be  done  that  would  increase  that  burden. 
As  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
university,  the  author,  when  consulted  by  a  prom- 
inent student,  Mr.  L.  B.  Mumma,  who  had  the 
enterprise  much  at  heart,  felt  that  it  was  far  too 
important  and  good  a  thing  to  be  antagonized,  and 
he   simply  insisted  that  if  the  work  should   be 

249 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

undertaken,  tlie  students  and  tlieir  friends  must 
bear  the  entire  financial  responsibility.  It  is  con- 
clusive evidence  of  the  intense  loyalty  and  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  of  the  student  body  that  in  such 
hard  conditions  they  soberly  and  heroically  re- 
solved to  undertake  the  work.  In  conference  with 
Secretaries  John  R.  Mott  and  S.  D,  Gordon,  it  was 
concluded  that  a  Christian  Association  and  gym- 
nasium, building  could  well  be  combined  in  one, 
and  thus  broaden  the  basis  of  the  appeal  for  help, 
as  Avell  as  meet  two  urgent  needs  with  one  effort. 
The  movement  was  one  for  which  the  students  dis- 
tinctly assumed  the  responsibility,  and  it  was  in- 
tensely religious.  When  the  meeting  on  Sabbath 
afternoon,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  provide  a 
building,  adjourned,  another  meeting  was  ap- 
pointed for  prayer  and  consultation;  about  forty 
students  attended.  At  this  meeting  it  was  decided 
to  fix  the  amount  to  be  sought  in  student  pledges 
at  $4,000,  giving  three  years'  time  for  payment. 
Just  before  the  adjournment  of  this  meeting. 
Secretary  S.  D.  Gordon  requested  that  those  who 
had  considered  the  question  sufficiently  to  make 
pledges,  should  announce  them,  and  with  little  de- 
lay fourteen  persons  pledged  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars. After  the  chapel  exercises  on  Monday  morn- 
ing the  students  were  requested  tO'  tarry,  when 
State  Secretary  Gordon  reported  the  action  of  the 
day  before,  and  after  a  calm  but  very  earnest 
address,  asked  for  its  ratification  or  rejection.  The 
ratification  was  nearly  unanimous,  and  then  addi- 
tional pledges  were  sought,  and  at  the  end  of  one 
hour  they  aggregated  $4,075,  already  surpassing 

250 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

the  limit  fixed  the  day  before,  and  the  limit  was 
advanced  to  $5,000,  which,  by  the  middle  of  the 
weCik,  was  again  passed,  the  aggregate  having  been 
carried  by  private  solicitation  to  $5,600.  These 
student  pledges  involved  much  of  self-denial  and 
sacrifice.  Some  who  had  been  promised  bicycles 
and  other  coveted  gifts  by  their  parents,  resolved 
to  forego  them,  and,  instead,  put  the  value  of  them 
into  this  building  project.  Indeed,  when  it  is 
considered  that  the  attendance  at  the  time  was  less 
than  three  hundred  students,  all  of  them  of  mod- 
erate and  a  large  majority  of  them  of  quite  narrow 
means,  this  building  enterprise  is  one  of  the 
grandest  achievements  not  only  in  the  sixty  years' 
liistory  of  the  university,  but  in  the  entire  history 
of  the  United  Brethren  Church.  Some  weeks  later 
than  the  canvass  above  noted,  Secretary  Gordon 
returned,  and  by  his  help  the  student  pledges  were 
carried  to  $7,000,  while  the  faculty  and  other 
friends  increased  the  total  sum  pledged  to  a  little 
over  $11,000. 

It  is  deemed  proper  to  record  here  a  little  inner 
history,  knowTi  to  very  few,  in  connection  with 
this  building  enterprise.  The  reader  has  observed 
that  the  pledges  taken  were  made  payable  in  three 
years,  but  the  students  were  eager  for  the  prompt 
erection  of  the  building.  As  the  labor  and  material 
for  the  building  would  require  cash  payment,  it  is 
plain  that  prompt  erection  would  make  it  neces- 
sary to  borrow  the  money  until  the  pledges  should 
become  due  and  collectible.  This  would  probably 
require  personal  security ;  but  those  able  and  will- 
ing thus  to  help  the  imiversity  were  already  heav- 

2.51 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ilj  burdened  in  connection  with  the  large  debt  of 
the  university  and  could  not  prudently  and  honor- 
ably go  much  farther.  To  avoid  trouble  and  disap- 
pointment later  on,  the  author,  as  chairman  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  university,  after  he  had 
heard  his  classes  for  the  day,  hurried  av^ay  to  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  telling  no  one  but  his  own  family  where 
he  was  going  or  what  his  mission,  to  consult  that 
never-failing  friend  of  the  university  in  times  of 
emergency,  D.  L.  Eike,  the  non-resident  member 
of  the  executive  committee.  On  ineeting  Mr.  Rike, 
he  was  found  to  be  already  deeply  interested  in  the 
building  project  by  what  he  had  seen  in  the  papers 
and  had  learned  from  letters  written  by  students 
from  Dayton  attending  the  university.  On  laying 
the  case  before  him,  and  also'  before  Mr.  S.  E. 
Kumler  and  F.  H.  Rike,  they  all  said,  in  sub- 
stance, "Go  aliead  with  the  building,  and  we  will 
join  you  in  guaranteeing  the  money  it  will  be  nec- 
essary to  borrow."  His  purpose  having  been 
accomplished,  he  hastened  to  the  train  and  reached 
Westerville  after  midnight,  appearing  before  his 
classes  as  usual,  none  of  them  being  aware  that  he 
had  been  in  Dayton  the  night  preceding,  or  how 
seriously  his  mission  was  related  to  the  building 
enterprise  which  filled  their  minds  and  hearts. 

The  building  committee,  with  Professor  Scott 
as  chairman,  promptly  secured  plans  for  the  build- 
ing, and  the  foundations  were  put  in  during  the 
fall  of  1892,  and  by  the  commencement  in  1893 
the  walls  were  up,  ready  for  the  roof.  Some  of  the 
money  was  advanced  by  inside  friends  without 
security,  but  the  larger  part,  notably  one  block  of 

252 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

$5,000  and  another  of  $2,000,  was  gotten  in  the 
old  monotonous  -waj  on  personal  security,  and  the 
Dayton  friends,  to  whom  tlie  night  visit  was  made, 
nobly  redeemed  their  pledges  by  joining  in  the 
guarantee. 

The  point  has  now  been  reached  where,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  author,  the  vital  relation  between 
this  grand  student.  move;nent,  which  secured  to  the 
university  its  excellent  Christian  Association  and 
gymnasium  building,  and  tlie  inception  and  execu- 
tion of  the  Knox  plan,  described  in  the  previous 
chapter,  and  the  vital  relation  of  a  kind  and  over- 
ruling providence  to  both,  clearly  appear.  The 
student  movement  was  in  1892  ;  the  Knox  plan 
closely  followed  in  1893.  The  Knox  plan,  it  is 
contended,  stood  not  simply  in  post  hoc,  but  in 
propter  Jioc  relation  to  the  student  movement. 
When  John  Knox  arose,  in  the  memorable  board 
session  of  1893,  to  present  his  plan,  he  began  by 
referring  to  this  students'  building,  then  rapidly 
nearing  completion,  only  a  few  hundred  feet  from 
where  the  board  was  in  session.  He  said  he  had 
talked  with  these  students  until  the  spirit  of  loy- 
alty, self-sacrifice,  and  liberality  they  manifested 
had  stirred  his  soul  and  had  made  him  feel  that 
the  board  must  not  adjourn  until  it  had  adopted 
some  effective  plan  to  deliver  the  university  from 
the  burden  of  its  embarrassing  debt,  if  it  would 
show  itself  worthy  of  the  care  of  as  noble  a  band 
of  young  people  as  these  students  had  shown  them- 
selves to  be.  He  declared  his  belief  that  if  the 
members  of  the  Church  could  be  led  to  emulate  the 
spirit  of  these  students,  deliverance  could  be 
253 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

achieved  in  a  single  year,  and  then  submitted  the 
plan  by  which  he  believed  it  could  be  done,  with 
the  result  as  already  given. 

If  the  author's  judgment,  therefore,  is  correct, 
and  he  was  near  enough  to  all  the  leading  move- 
ments involved  to  have  pretty  close  knowledge  of 
them,  these  students  builded  wiser  than  they  knew 
when  they  erected  this  Christian  Association  and 
gymnasium  building.  They  intended  to  provide  a 
home  for  the  Christian  organizations  of  the  univer- 
sity and  a  place  for  physical  training,  a  most  laud- 
able purpose,  surely,  and  worthy  of  all  honor ;  but 
in  the  orderings  of  providence  they  were  given  the 
greater  honor  of  being  the  advance  guard  to  lead 
the  imiversity  out  of  the  wilderness  of  debt  in 
which  it  had  wandered  for  more  than  forty  years. 
At  the  commencement  of  1894,  at  which  the  Knox 
plan  was  carried  to  a  triumphant  success,  the  debt, 
including  that  of  the  association  building,  aggre- 
gated over  $130,000.  While  the  success  of  the 
Knox  plan,  bringing  to  the  university  over 
$85,000,  could  not  extinguish  so  large  a  debt,  it 
did  wipe  out  more  than  half  of  it  and  put  it  in 
process  of  extinction ;  and  what  may  vei*y  properly 
be  called  the  Sanders  plan  of  1901,  carried  to  suc- 
cess between  January  1,  1902,  and  January  1, 
1903,  completed  the  work  by  wiping  out  most  of 
the  remainder  and  providing  for  its  complete  pay- 
ment, and  at  the  front  of  this  triumphing  column 
was  this  student  movement,  which  prepared  the 
way  for  all  that  followed.  But  the  material  good 
in  deliverance  from  debt  was  not  the  only  or,  in- 
deed, the  chief  good  for  which  this  student-build- 

254 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

ing  enterprise  prepared  the  way.  It  helped  to  keep 
the  ■university  at  the  front  in  the  Christian  activ- 
ities of  its  students,  as  shown  in  the  high  percent- 
age of  those  who  profess  faith  in  Christ,  who  are 
members  of  the  Christian  associations,  who  are  en- 
rolled in  Bible  and  mission-study  classes,  who  be- 
long to  the  Student  Volunteer  Band,  and  who  have 
gone  forth  as  Christian  workers  in  our  own  land 
and  as  missionaries  to  heathen  lands.  From  eighty 
to  as  high  as  ninety-five  per  cent,  have  at  times 
been  professed  disciples  of  Christ,  and  from  sixty 
to  seventy-five  per  cent,  enrolled  in  Bible  and  mis- 
sion-study classes. 

The  first  student  of  the  university  that  went  out 
as  a  foreign  missionary  was  Rev.  C.  O.  Wilson, 
who  went  to  Sierra  LeonC',  West  Africa,  in  1860 ; 
he  was  quickly  disabled  by  the  African  fever, 
and  compelled  to  return.  JSTot  willing  to  subject 
the  board  to  expense  without  service,  he  paid  the 
entire  cost  of  the  trip  out  of  his  own  pocket.  Miss 
Amanda  Hanby,  daughter  of  ex-Bishop  Hanby, 
became  the  wife  of  Rev.  J.  K.  Billheimer,  who  had 
served  as  a  missionary  in  Africa  since  185Y,  in 
1862,  and  accompanied  him,  as  an  associate  la- 
borer, to  that  field.  Since  these  two,  some  twenty- 
six  graduates  and  students  have  gone  forth  to  dif- 
ferent fields  as  foreign  missionaries,  most  of  them 
to  West  Africa.  In  1889  Miss  Frances  Williams, 
and,  in  1891,  Miss  Elma  Bittle  and  Miss  Ella 
Schenck  went  to  Africa,  and  these  all  sleep  in  the 
Dark  Continent.  The  two  first  named  were  vic- 
tims of  the  African  fever  and  the  last  of  the  mas- 
sacre of  1898.     In  1894  there  was  a  fine  addition 

255 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

to  the  missionary  representatives  in  the  foreign 
field  in  the  persons  of  Rev.  A.  T.  Howard  and 
wife,  Rev.  J.  R.  King  and  wife,  Miss  Minnie 
Eaton,  and  Miss  Florence  Cronise,  all  of  whom 
went  to  Sierra  Leone,  West  Africa.  After  four 
years'  service  in  West  Africa,  Rev.  A.  T.  Howard 
and  wife  were  sent  to  Japan,  where  they  are  now 
laboring.  In  1896  Rev.  F.  S.  Minshall  and  wife 
went  to  West  Africa  and  narrowly  escaped  the 
massacre  of  1898.  Miss  Mary  E.  Murrel  went 
out  in  1902,  and  in  1903  a  company  of  six  of  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  university  were  sent  out 
to  West  Africa ;  they  were  Rev.  W.  E.  Riebel  and 
wife.  Rev.  C.  W.  Snyder  and  wife,  and  Rev.  Clay- 
to7i  Judy  and  wife.  Of  this  company,  Mrs.  Riebel 
(Elsie  Lambert)  quickly  succumbed  tO'  the  climate 
and  joined  "Frankie"  Williams,  Elma  Bittle,  and 
Ella  Schenck  beyond  the  river.  In  1905,  Rev.  E. 
J.  Pace  and  wife  were  sent  to^  the  Philippines  and 
Rev.  B.  F.  Bean  to  China,  and  in  1906  Dr.  Frank 
Oldt  and  Miss  Ora  Maxwell  (now  Mrs.  Oldt) 
were  also  sent  to  China  and  Mr.  E.  M.  Hursh  to 
Africa.  All  these  were  sent  out  by  the  boards  of 
the  United  Brethren  Church.  In  addition,  Mrs. 
Dr.  Madge  Dickson  Mateer,  since  1889,  has  been 
a  medical  missionary  for  the  Presbyterians  in 
China,  Miss  Lela  Guitner,  since  1902,  a  Y.  W.  C. 
A.  secretai-y  in  India,  and  Mrs.  E.  Barnett  Eby, 
high-school  teacher,  Philippines,  'No.  5.  These 
noblest  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  university 
have  kept  the  eyes  of  the  students  riveted  on  the 
foreign  missionary  field,  and  have  kept  missionary 
interest  glowing  in  their  hearts. 

25G 


Kev.  liKWIS  BOOKWALTER,  D.  D. 

I'lvsident  since  1904. 


The  Cliurch  in  Westerville 

To  give  an  account  of  the  labors  of  these  mis- 
sionaries and  set  forth  results  which  have  followed 
in  the  lands  to  which  they  went,  would  require  vol- 
umes. It  is  deemed  best  to  give  a  typical  case  as  a 
specimen  of  the  work  of  these  missionaries.  Joseph 
Caulker  was  the  son  of  George  Caulker,  an  Afri- 
can chief  or  headman,  who  at  an  early  age  became 
connected  with  the  African  mission.  He  was  of 
pure  negro  blood,  though  of  unusually  fine  fea- 
tures, which  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Caulkers. 
He  professed  faith  in  Christ  when  a  young  boy, 
and  applied  himself  very  diligently  to  his  studies 
and  made  good  progress.  He  graduated  from  the 
Clark  Training-School  with  the  first  class  in  1896. 
Rev.  L.  0.  Burtner,  one  of  our  missionaries, 
brought  Mr.  Caulker  to  America  in  1896,  and  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  he  entered  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity. By  his  manly  bearing,  pleasing  manners, 
fine  gifts,  and  noble  Christian  character,  he 
quickly  won  the  admiration  and  love  of  his  fellow- 
students  and  his  teachers,  overcoming  in  a  remark- 
able degree  the  prejudice  against  persons  of  his 
color,  usually  so  strong.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no 
student  ever  trod  the  campus  of  the  university  who 
had  entrenched  himself  more  thoroughly  in  the 
good  will  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  On 
a  fateful  day  in  December,  1900,  when  he  had 
reached  the  Junior  year,  on  returning  to  his  room 
from  a  recitation,  he  undertook  to  kindle  a  fire 
with  oil,  when  there  was  an  explosion,  which  threw 
the  burning  oil  over  his  body  and  he  was  fatally 
burned,  dying  next  morning,  December  7,  1900. 
His  tragic  death  threw  a  pall  of  sorrow  over  the 

17  257 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

university  and  tlie  community.  At  his  funeral  a 
great  concourse  assembled  to  pay  tribute  to  his 
memory.  No  death  in  the  university  in  the  past 
sixty  years  has  been  more  deeply  and  sincerely 
mourned.  Joseph  Caulker,  a  trophy  of  our  mis- 
sionary labor,  sleeps  in  Otterbein  cemetery,  near 
the  university,  where  a  modest  monument,  placed 
by  students  and  faculty,  marks  the  resting-place  of 
one  whose  brief  life  afforded  a  forceful  illustration 
of  the  power  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  transform 
and  beautify  the  character  of  one  born  in  a  pagan 
land. 

Very  appropriate  is  it  that  fifty-three  years 
after  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Home,  Fron- 
tier, and  Eoreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ  was  held  in  the  halls  of  the 
university,  the  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Church  should  meet  in  the  halls  of  the  same  uni- 
versity in  this  year'of  grace,  1907,  to  review  the 
work  of  the  past  and  plan  for  the  future.  Very 
appropriate  is  it  that  here,  in  this  Antioch  of  the 
Church,  where  so  many  precious  youth  have  had 
their  eyes  directed  to  the  great  fields  of  the  world 
white  to  the  harvest,  and,  having  heard  the  com- 
mand, "Go,"  have  responded,  "Here  am  I;  send 
me,"  and  then  were  commissioned  and  sent  forth, 
other  youth,  among  them  another  son  and  daughter 
of  the  university,  should  be  consecrated  and  sent 
forth  to  toil  in  the  great  field  of  world-evangelism. 

The  reader  will  readily  believe  that  the  growing 
religious  interest  in  the  university  has  had  an  im- 
portant bearing  upon  the  deportment  of  the  stu- 
dents and  the  order  of  the  school.    It  would  not  do 

258 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

to  say  that,  in  the  past  sixty  years,  there  have  been 
no  outbreaks  of  disorder  and  epidemics  of  lawless- 
ness, but  it  will  do  to  say  that  they  have  been  very 
rare  and  mostly  confined  to  the  somewhat  remote 
past.  There  has  never  been  what  might  with  pro- 
priety be  called  a  case  of  hazing.  The  practice  of 
tampering  with  the  property  of  citizens  and  de- 
facing and  damaging  the  buildings  of  the  univer- 
sity has  ahnost  disappeared.  Even  the  college 
tricks  of  milder  type,  sometimes  taking  the  form 
of  practical  jokes,  are  not  as  much  indulged  in  as 
formerly.  The  autlior  may  give  a  specimen  trick, 
of  which  he  was  the  victim,  to  make  plain  to  the 
reader  what  he  is  talking  about. 

To  illustrate  to  his  class  in  logic  that  a  statement 
may  be  alternative  in  form  when  there  is  no  alter- 
native in  fact,  he  related  the  story  of  the  master 
who  sent  his  servant  on  a  hunt,  with  the  promise 
that  he  would  divide  with  him  the  game  he  should 
secure.  The  servant  returned  with  a  wild  turkey 
and  a  buzzard,  and  to-  accomplish  the  promised 
division,  the  master  said  to  the  servant : 

"Either  I  will  take  the  turkey  and  you  may 
have  the  buzzard,  or  you  may  have  the  buzzard  and 
I  will  take  the  turkey,"  to  which  the  servant  re- 
plied, "You  never  say  turkey  to  me  once," 

l^ot  very  long  after,  the  professor  of  logic,  in 
preparation  for  an  anniversary  celebration,  sus- 
pended a  finely  dressed  turkey  in  a  stoop  of  the 
house  to  cool,  intending  to  take  it  in  for  the  night, 
but  forgot  to  do  so.  'Next  morning  he  went  to  get 
the  turkey,  he  is  obliged  to  confess,  with  some 
apprehension,  and  where  the  turkey  had  been  sus- 

259 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

peaided  hung  its  bones  tied  in  a  bundle,  with  tliis 
note  attached : 

"Dear  Doctok  :  Either  we  will  take  the  turkey 
and  you  may  have  the  bones,  or  you  may  have  the 
bones  and  we  will  take  the  turkey." 

The  professor  does  not  regard  himself  of  an  un- 
duly suspicious  disposition,  but  he  has  always  sus- 
pected that  some  of  that  logic  class  feasted  on  his 
turkey,  but  the  parody  on  his  class-room  story  was 
so  clever  that  he  never  even  investigated,  but  pro- 
cured another  turkey  and  the  anniversary  celebra- 
tion proceeded  without  further  mishap.  That  was 
a  good  many  years  ago,  and  there  has  been  con- 
siderable progress  since,  but  he  would  not  regard 
it  prudent,  even  now,  to  suspend  another  turkey 
and  forget  to  take  it  in,  especially  not  one  drawn 
and  dressed,  ready  for  the  roasting  pan ! 

PHYSICAL  CTTLTURE. 

Some  have  contended  that  the  improved  deport- 
ment of  the  students  and  the  better  order  of  the 
school  are  to  be  credited  to  the  provision  made  for 
physical  culture  and  the  increased  attention  given 
to  athletics  in  these  later  years.  The  truth  prob- 
ably is  that  both  the  increased  and  more  orderly 
religious  and  physical  activities  have  contributed 
to  the  result.  With  some,  doubtless  the  religious, 
with  others  the  physical  have  exerted  the  greater 
influence,  while  in  other  cases  they  have  been  com- 
bined in  about  equal  proportion.  That  the  re- 
ligious and  physical  activities  are  not  antagonistic, 
but  harmonious,  would  seem  to  be  suggested  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  both  provided  for  in  the  univer- 

2(30 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

sity,  as  is  not  uncominon  elsewhere,  in  tlie  same 
building. 

In  tlie  early  history  and  for  many  years  in  the 
university,  there  were  no  athletics  in  the  modem 
sense  of  the  term.  The  physical  culture  of  the 
early  days  was  obtained  over  a  saw-horse  by  a 
woodpile,  or  with  a  hoe  in  the  garden,  or  other  im- 
plement of  toil  in  shop  or  field.  To  these  the  stu- 
dents resorted,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  athletic  exer- 
cise and  physical  culture  thus  to  be  obtained,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  money  to  be  earned  to  help  them 
meet  the  expenses  of  their  education. 

While  in  the  seventies  and  early  eighties  of  the 
last  century  Otterbein  University  had  a  baseball 
team  which  compared  very  favorably  with  the  best 
college  teams  in  the  State,  yet  the  athletic  history 
of  the  university  does  not  properly  begin  until 
1889.  The  "pioneers,"  who  came  intoi  notice  in 
that  year,  were  the  two  Barnards,  Lawrence,  '94, 
and  Ernest,  '95;  L.  A.  Thompson,  '94,  O.  L. 
Shanl^,  '95,  W.  A.  Garst  (Caisar),  '94,  A.  Burt- 
ner,  and  others.  Four  dollars  were  invested  in  a 
football,  and  amateur  practice  began  in  the  "field" 
back  of  the  main  building,  in  a  way,  it  is  said, 
which  led  onlookers  to  conclude  that  football  is  a 
rough  game.  In  the  fall  of  1890  the  pioneers  were 
joined  by  Ir\dn  G.  Kumler,  '91,  A.  T.  Howard, 
'94,  M.  B.  Fanning,  '94,  F.  J.  Resler,  '93,  and 
others.  After  about  a  month's  practice  there  was  a 
consuming  desire  to  try  conclusions  with  the  team 
of  a  neighboring  college;  but  the  team  had  as  yet 
had  no  opportunity  to  gain  a  standing,  so  their 
overtures  for  a  game  with  the  Kenyon  College  team 

261 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

were  declined  and  they  had  to  content  themselves 
to  play  a  game  with  the  Military  Academy  team  of 
Kenyon.  The  ''content"  was  substantial,  for  the 
score  was  48  to  6  against  them.  Then  they  had  a 
game  with  the  Denison  University  team,  with  a 
score  of  44  to  0  against  them.  This  sobered  the 
boys.  It  was  not  the  Otterbein  University  style  of 
things.  They  sent  to  Dayton  and  secured  "Link" 
Artz,  an  old  Dartmouth  player,  to  coach  them  for 
a  week.  This  was  of  great  value,  and  they  won  a 
game  with  Ohio  State  University  by  a  score  of  42 
to  6,  and  with  Denison  by  a  score  of  12  to  10. 
These  victories  gave  the  team  prominence  and  pres- 
tige, and  they  accepted  an  offer  from  the  Dayton 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  for  a  Thanksgiving  game,  in  which 
they  were  defeated  by  a  score  of  10  to  0.  In  the 
season  of  1892  things  started  off  badly  for  the 
university  team,  with  defeats  both  by  the  Kenyon 
and  Denison  teams.  Then  came  a  turning-point 
in  the  football  history  of  the  university.  A  com- 
plete new  set  of  plays  and  signals  was  devised,  a 
training-table  was  started,  and  close  attention  was 
given  to  practice,  and  then,  on  the  Saturday  before 
Thanksgiving,  they  defeated  the  Wittenberg  Col- 
lege team  by  a  score  of  52  to  0.  On  Thanksgiving 
they  went  to  Dayton,  determined  to  retrieve  the 
disastrous  defeat  of  the  year  before  in  a  game  with 
Dayton  Y.  M.  C.  A.  team,  and  they  did  it,  to  the 
great  surprise  and  chagrin  of  the  Dayton  team,  by 
a  score  of  16  to  6.  This  victory  carried  the  name 
of  the  team  and  of  the  university  all  over  the  State, 
and,  indeed,  the  United  States.  One  of  the  players 
thus  expressed  the  feeling  with  which  the  victory 

262 


The  Church  in  Westerville 

was  regarded :  "What  we  did  to  that  Dayton  team 
was  almost  enough  to  make  the  trees  on  the  old 
campus  yell  for  joy."  It  was  recognized  as  the 
Otterbein  University  way  of  doing  things.  What 
has  been  said  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  general 
spirit  of  these  university  teams  and  the  attitude  of 
the  students  toward  them  ever  since. 

The  Athletic  Association  was  organized  in  1890, 
and  the  first  field  sports  were  held  on  Founders' 
Day,  April  26  of  that  year.  There  were  no  direc- 
tors of  physical  culture  until  1894.  Miss  E. 
Luella  Fonts  served  in  this  position  for  four  years, 
though  not  continuously;  Hanby  R.  Jones  served 
for  the  year  1897-8  ;  D.  J.  Good,  for  the  two  years 
1898-00 ;  Miss  Tallmadge  A.  Rickey,  for  the  four 
years  1900-04 ;  Chester  C.  Vale,  1900-01 ;  Joseph 
O.  Ervin,  1900-03;  Hersey  R.  Keene,  1903-05; 
I^ellis  R.  Funk,  1903-04;  Miss  Olivia  Milne, 
1904;  J.  £.  Kalmbach,  1906. 

The  match  games  have  been  either  in  baseball, 
football,  or  basketrball.  The  gymnasium  has  been 
of  great  service  to  the  university,  and  is  constantly 
coming  into  greater  and  more  effective  use.  As 
to  football,  there  is  great  sympathy  with  the  idea 
of  relieving  it,  as  far  as  practicable,  from  its  rough 
and  otherwise  objectionable  features,  but  very 
little  with  the  idea  of  abolishing  the  game  itself. 
There  have  been  injuries  of  a  more  or  less  serious 
nature,  but  no  fatalities  among  the  students  who 
have  participated  in  these  games.  Upon  the  whole, 
while  there  have  been  incidental  evils  in  connec- 
tion with  athletics  as  found  in  the  university,  the 
good  has  far  exceeded  the  evil. 

263 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 

Music — Art — Normal    Instruction — Librax-y — College     Jour- 
nals— Other  Features. 

There  is  no  reference  to  instruction  in  music 
in  Otterbein  University  until  the  catalogue  of 
1853,  and  then  only  by  the  appearance  of  the  name 
of  Miss  Cornelia  A.  Walker  as  teacher  of  music 
and  drawing.  From  other  reliable  sources  it  is 
learned  that  President  L.  Davis  brought  the  first 
piano  to  the  university,  and  to  Westerville,  in 
1852.  It  was  placed  in  the  ladies'  hall,  and  Mrs. 
Matilda  G.  Carpenter,  a  sister-in-law  of  Mrs.  Pro- 
fessor John  Haywood,  gave  lessons  on  this  instru- 
ment in  1852,  and  so  was  the  first  tO'  teach  music 
in  the  university.  As  this  solitary  piano,  however, 
had  to  serve  for  both  teaching  and  practice,  it  is 
plain  that  the  musical  instruction  was  not  very  ex- 
tensive. Miss  Walker  was  a  daughter  of  Professor 
R.  M.  Walker,  and  served  as  music  teacher  for  five 
years,  first  from  1853tol856,  and  then  from  1859 
to  1861.  During  the  interval  of  two  years,  from 
1856  to  1858,  Mr.  John  Syler  appears  as  teacher 
of  both  vocal  and  instrumental  music.  Mr.  Syler 
appears  as  the  first  teacher  of  vocal  music.  Among 
a  number  of  teachers  of  both  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music  who  taught  for  but  one  year,  appear 
a  number  who  taught  for  a  series  of  years,  as  Miss 
Lydia  M.  Winter,  1863  to  1866,  and  the  same  per- 
son as  Mrs.  Professor  Guitner,  from  1866tol869, 

264 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

instrumental;  John  M.  Bigger,  instrumental, 
1872-4;  C.  A.  Bowersox,  vocal,  1872-4;  Miss  Min- 
nie King,  instrumental,  1875-8,  and  E.  S.  Lorenz, 
vocal,  1876-80.  Some  of  these  teachers,  as  0.  A. 
Bowersox  and  E.  S.  Lorenz,  were  students  at  the 
time  they  taught  vocal  music.  Music  was  taught 
during  those  early  years  very  much  on  the  princi- 
ple of  supplying  a  demand,  without  reference  to 
any  prescribed  course,  and  so  not  contemplating 
graduation.  Instruction  was  given  very  much  ac- 
cording to  the  wishes  of  students,  of  course  largely 
controlled  by  their  stage  of  advancement.  The  uni- 
versity gave  accommodations  in  the  rooms  of  the 
main  college-building  until  1888,  when  the  pres- 
ent Davis  Conservatory  building  was  acquired, 
partly  as  a  gift  from  Kev.  L.  Davis  and  wife,  and 
has  since  been  occupied  by  the  director  of  music, 
while  portions  of  the  Christian  Association  build- 
ing and  other  buildings  have  been  used  as  the 
growth  of  the  department  demanded.  In  these 
early  years  the  teachers  as  a  rule  depended  upon 
the  tuition  paid  by  the  pupils  for  their  compen- 
sation, usually  receiving  the  whole  amount,  but 
sometimes  paying  the  university  a  small  per  cent, 
to  pay  for  fuel  and  janitor  service.  At  times  it 
has  been  necessary  for  the  university,  in  order  to 
secure  capable  teachers,  to  guarantee  a  certain  sal- 
ary, paying  the  deficit  if  the  tuition  fell  short  of 
the  amount  guaranteed. 

The  attention  given  to  musical  instruction  in 
the  university  had  the  same  wholesome  and  liberal- 
izing effect  upon  the  Church  that  its  academic 
teaching  had.     When  Otterbein  University  was 

265 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

founded,  there  was  an  intense  and  very  general 
sentiment  against  church  choirs  and  the  use  of 
musical  instruments  in  connection  with  worship. 
Indeed,  this  sentiment  was  so  strong  that  for  many 
years  it  was  embodied  in  a  law  of  the  Church  for- 
bidding choirs  and  instrumental  music  in  the  wor- 
ship of  the  sanctuary.  For  the  university,  how- 
ever, to  give  careful  attention  to  voice  culture  and 
to  imparting  skill  in  instrumental  music,  only  to 
be  put  under  the  ban  by  the  Church,  involved  an 
absurdity  which  was  bound  to  manifest  itself  in 
time  to  the  thoughtful  members  of  the  Church.  It 
was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  this  prohibition 
would  fall  before  the  advancing  musical  skill  of  the 
devout  young  people  gathered  in  our  colleges.  So 
the  General  Conference  of  1869,  which  met  in 
Lebanon,  Pa.,  removed  the  prohibition,  but  still 
left  the  following  advisory  clause : 

"We  would  counsel  our  societies  to  avoid  the 
introduction  of  choirs  and  instrumental  music  into 
their  worship." 

It  required,  however,  a  long,  and  at  times  some- 
what bitter  controversy,  to  secure  this  modification 
of  the  regulation  of  the  Church.  With  the  General 
Conference  of  1885  all  reference  to  choirs  and  in- 
strumental music  disappeared  from  the  Discipline 
of  the  Church.  As  a  curious  illustration  of  the 
sentiment  in  the  United  Brethren  Church  during 
this  prohibitive  period,  a  case  which  occurred  on  a 
charge  which  the  author  served  in  the  60's  of  the 
last  century  is  given.  A  cabinet  organ  was  in  use 
in  the  Sabbath  school  in  the  basement  room  of  the 
church,  to  which  there  seemed  to  be  no  objection ; 

266 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

but  on  the  occasion  of  a  special  young  people's 
service  in  the  audience  room  above,  without  the 
pastor's  knowledge,  the  young  people  sought  and 
obtained  from,  a  trustee  of  the  church  permission 
to  take  the  organ  upstairs,  to  be  played  during 
the  young  people's  service.  While  preaching  he 
noticed  a  devout  sister,  a  teacher  in  the  Sab- 
bath school,  weeping  rather  freely.  The  preacher 
felt  encouraged.  "Surely  the  Word  is  taking 
hold,"  thought  he.  But  what  was  his  astonish- 
ment when  the  good  sister,  immediately  after  the 
benediction,  rushed  forward  to  the  pulpit  and  de- 
manded a  letter  from  the  church !  When  asked  to 
explain,  she  dolefully  cast  her  eyes  toward  the 
organ  and  said :  "That  organ  has  robbed  me  of  my 
church  home,  and  I  want  a  letter."  When  asked 
where  she  proposed  to  join,  if  given  a  letter,  she 
named  a  Methodist  church  in  the  same  part  of  the 
city.  On  being  reminded  that  an  organ  had  long 
been  in  use  in  worship  there,  her  reply  was :  "But 
they  have  no  rule  against  it  there."  A  visit  and  a 
little  kind  interchange  of  thought  calmed  the  good 
sister,  and  she  remained  in  the  Church  from  which 
she  has  long  since  gone  to  her  eternal  home.  It 
has  been  the  mission  of  Otterbein  University,  as 
the  first  college  of  the  Church,  to  lead  the  way  in 
bringing  deliverance  from  many  prejudices  and 
erroneous  notions  which  formerly  hindered  and 
limited  the  Church  in  its  work. 

Prof.  W.  L.  Todd  was  the  first  teacher  of  music 
who  was  recognized  as  a  regular  professor,  instead 
of  simply  an  instructor.  He  was  a  thoroughgoing 
teacher,  and  first  devised  a  full  course  of  musical 

267 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

instruction  leading  to  graduation.  He  began  his 
service  in  the  university  in  1878,  and  served  for 
nine  years,  the  record  term  up  to  that  time,  which 
was  terminated  by  his  death  in  1887.  Besides  Mr. 
E.  S.  Lorenz,  already  mentioned.  Miss  Laura  E. 
Kesler,  Mr.  E.  O.  McFadon,  and  Miss  Lydia  K. 
Resler  served  as  teachers  of  vocal  music,  while  W. 
L.  Todd  was  professor  of  instrumental  music.  Mrs. 
W.  L.  Todd,  widow  of  the  professor,  and  her  sister, 
Miss  Nellie  Flickinger,  ^\^th  Jacob  Goebel,  who 
taught  on  the  violin,  were  instructors  in  instru- 
mental music,  and  Miss  E.  Prockie  Coggeshall 
instructor  of  vocal  music  after  the  death  of  Pro- 
fessor W.  L.  Todd.  Erom  1888  regular  profes- 
sors of  music  were  again  elected,  and  E.  C.  Davis, 
Erederick  ISTeddermeyer,  Robert  A.  Morrow,  W. 
B.  Kinnear,  and  Herman  Ebeling  served  in  this 
position  down  to  1895,  when  Professor  Gustav 
Meyer  was  elected,  and  has  served  with  increasing 
popularity  and  success  ever  since,  a  period  of 
twelve  years,  which  is  the  record  period  in  the  past 
sixty  years.  Eor  two  years  Professor  Meyer, 
according  to  custom,  received  the  tuition  fees  as  his 
compensation ;  but  his  work  was  so  successful  and 
satisfactory  that  the  Conservatory  Board  of  Con- 
trol, which  had  been  instrumental  in  securing  his 
services,  recommended  that  he  be  paid  a  salary  of 
$1,200.  As  the  board  had  been  compelled,  prior 
to  his  coming,  to  pay  deficits  on  a  guarantee  of 
$800,  the  recommendation  was  adopted  with  some 
hesitation,  but  the  result  abundantly  justified  their 
action.  The  first  year  under  salary,  1898,  yielded 
a  surplus  of  over  $300  above  cost  of  instruction, 

2G8 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

and  the  department  has  prospered  and  grown  nntil 
the  receipts  have  been  quintupled.  As  faithful  as 
he  is  competent,  Professor  Meyer  has  built  up  the 
department  into  a  measure  of  strength  and  effi- 
ciency which  reflects  great  credit  upon  the  director 
and  the  university. 

Numerous  faithful  and  capable  instructors  have 
borne  part  in  the  work  since  1888,  but  to  present 
their  service  in  detail  would  require  much  repeti- 
tion. Their  names,  with  terms  of  service  and  the 
nature  of  the  instruction  given,  will  be  found  in 
Appendix  A,  to  which  the  readf^r  is  referred. 

Voluntary  musical  organizations  have  existed 
from  an  early  date  in  one  or  another  form,  almost 
continuously  to  the  present  time.    One  of  the  early 
organizations  was  a  brass  band  in  the  50's  of  the 
last  century,  which  was  led  by  Prof.  Thos.  McPad- 
den,  which  later  went  into  the  service  with  the 
46ih  Eegiment,  O.  V.  I.    Prof.  L.  H.  Hammond 
also  led  an  orchestra  for  a  time  during  his  service 
in  the  university.     There  have  also  been  college 
and  literary  society  orchestras,  quartets  and  glee 
clubs,  both  of  lady  and  gentlemen  students,  some 
of  which  attained  to  high  excellence  and  popular- 
ity.    A  large  majority  of  those  who  have  pursued 
musical  studies  have  been  ladies,  and  the  alumnal 
register  shows  that  the  ladies  constitute  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  those  who  have  graduated 
from  the  Davis  Conservatory  of  Music. 

AET. 

There  is  no  reference  to  teaching  art  in  the  uni- 
versity until  1853,  and  then  only  by  the  appear- 

269 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

ance  of  the  name  of  Miss  Cornelia  A.  Walker  as 
teacher  of  music  and  drawing.  In  1862,  however, 
Mrs.  Harriet  E.  Thompson  first  appears  in  the 
catalogue  as  teacher  of  painting  and  drawing,  and, 
except  an  interval  of  four  years,  from  1868  to 
1872,  served  continuously  until  1893,  a  period  of 
twenty-seven  years,  which  is  not  only  the  record 
period  of  this  department,  but  in  all  adjunct  de- 
partments. Until  quite  recently  teachers  of  art 
were  paid  no  salary,  but  depended  upon  the  tuition 
paid  by  the  students,  the  whole  of  which  the  teach- 
ers received.  Indeed,  for  many  years  the  cat- 
alogues do  not  indicate  how  many  or  what  students 
studied  art.  Even  the  students  in  music  are  not 
separately  classified  until  1874,  and  it  would  seem 
that  no  account  was  taken  of  those  who  studied 
only  music  or  art.  Those  who  pursued  other 
studies  in  any  of  the  regular  courses  appeared  in 
their  proper  classifications.  Mrs.  Thompson  is  the 
wife  of  Rev.  H.  A.  Thompson,  who  served  the  uni- 
versity as  professor  and  president  for  twenty 
years.  She  is  a  capable  teacher  and  a  fine  artist. 
Some  of  her  oil  portraits  have  been  much  admired, 
notably  those  of  Dr.  L.  Davis  and  his  wife,  and  of 
Professor  Thomas  McEadden,  and  her  husband, 
which  hang  in  the  library  room. 

Mrs.  Thompson  was  succeedeJ  in  1893  by  Miss 
Isabel  Sevier  (now  Mrs.  Professor  Scott),  as 
principal  of  the  art  department,  and  has  served 
continuously  to  the  present  time.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact,  therefore,  that  these  two  teachers 
cover  a  period  of  forty-one  years,  and  their  work 
reaches  back  to  1862,  when  Mrs.  Thompson  began 

270 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

her  work  forty-five  years  ago.  Prior  to  Mrs. 
Scott,  however,  the  art  teaching  and  work 
was  of  a  somewhat  miscellaneous  character, 
designed,  like  the  earlier  instruction  in  music,  to 
meet  a  demand  rather  than  afford  a  systematic  and 
complete  art  education.  There  was  no  course  lead- 
ing to  graduation,  excellent  as  was  the  teaching. 
Since  Mrs.  Scott  has  been  in  charge  she  has  greatly 
developed  the  department,  and  the  patronage  has 
largely  increased.  A  technical  course  in  seven 
classes  of  art  work,  with  instruction  in  the  history 
and  criticism  of  art,  has  been  devised,  leading  to 
graduation.  The  first  graduate  of  the  department 
went  forth  in  1898.  A  large  majority  of  the  stu- 
dents, and  thus  far  all  the  graduates  of  the  depart- 
ment, have  been  ladies. 

NORMAL  INSTKUCTION. 

The  general  policy  of  Otterbein  University 
through  all  its  history  has  been  to  hold  itself  some- 
what rigorously  to  regular  college  work,  and  allow 
nothing  to  interfere  with  or  turn  it  aside  from  this 
grade  of  work.  Whatever  adjunct  department  it 
deemed  to  be  important  to  establish,  it  stood 
ready  to  admit,  but  not  to  the  neglect  or  detriment 
of  properly  college  work.  This  one  work  it  must  do, 
even  if  all  adjunct  departments  must  be  excluded. 
It  has  never  allowed  the  alternative  to  be  a  college 
or  conservatory  of  music,  or  an  art  school,  or  a  nor- 
mal school.  The  position  has  always  been  a  col- 
lege, and,  if  possible,  a  conservatory  of  music,  an 
art  and  normal  school.  It  has  not  always  been 
easy  to  maintain  this  high  ground.  In  the  late  80's 

271 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

of  the  last  century,  the  colleges  of  Ohio  especially 
were  subjected  to  great  temptation  to  turn  aside  to 
normal  school  work.  Some  private  normal  schools, 
by  their  high  pretensions  to  superiority  at  the  very 
time  that  they  were  shortening  courses  and 
cheapening  degrees,  were  attracting  large  numbers 
of  young  people  by  their  proposed  short-cuts  to 
graduation.  In  number  of  students,  for  which  at 
the  time  there  was  a  great  rage,  these  normal 
schools  were  achieving  a  phenomenal  success,  their 
attendance  in  some  instances  swelling  even  into 
the  thousands.  Some  of  the  friends  of  the  college 
were  well  nigh  swept  from  their  feet  by  the  boasted 
success  of  the  normal  schools,  and  seemed  inclined 
to  believe  that  unless  the  colleges  should  yield  to 
the  pressure,  lower  their  standards,  and  engage 
largely  in  normal  school  work,  they  would  be  com- 
peted to  death  by  these  noisy  and  apparently  suc- 
cessful normal  schools.  It  was  very  fortunate  that 
the  eilorts  to  unify  and  elevate  the  standard  of 
Ohio  colleges  by  the  Ohio  College  Association,  de^ 
scribed  in  a  previous  chapter,  occurred  in  the  years 
immediately  preceding  this  normal  school  raid, 
for  they  had  emphasized  the  importance  of  high- 
grade  and  standard  college  work,  and  fortified  the 
colleges  against  lowering  their  standards  and 
shortening  their  courses  of  study,  and  so  helped 
them  maintain  the  high  standards  they  had  with 
so  much  labor  established. 

There  was  also  another  movement,  not  so  well 
judged  as  that  of  the  Ohio  College  Association, 
which  aided  the  colleges  in  maintaining  their  high 
standard  against  this  demoralizing  normal  school 

272 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

competition.  It  was  the  movement  to  establish 
post-graduate  courses,  and  to  attempt  work  be- 
yond the  properly  college  grade.  This  movement 
affords  a  rather  fine  illustration  of  one  question- 
able extreme  helping  to  neutralize  and  cure  an- 
other. The  establishment  of  post-graduate  courses 
was  a  strain  upward  which  tended  to  coimteract 
the  pull  downward  of  normal  school  competition. 
This  pull  and  counter-pull  of  forces,  so  far  as 
Otterbein  University  is  concerned,  enabled  the  in- 
stitution to  pass  through  a  very  trying  period  in  its 
history  without  lowering  its  standard,  and  led  it, 
of  its  own  motion,  to  abandon  courses  tO'  properly 
maintain  which  it  was  neither  equipped  nor 
manned.  Such  attention  as  the  university  could 
give  to  the  needs  of  teachers  while  maintaining 
at  standard  gi-ade  its  regular  college  courses,  which, 
after  all,  afford  the  really  solid  equipment  for  the 
work  of  teaching,  it  has  given,  while  it  has  con- 
fined its  normal  instruction,  of  a  properly  profes- 
sional character,  to  its  smnmer  school. 

So  far  as  the  university  has  given  encourage^ 
ment  to  a  school  of  commerce,  it  has  been  in  order 
to  meet  a  demand,  so  far  as  it  could  be  done,  with- 
out detriment  to  the  regular  college  work.  The 
theory  has  been  that  stLidents  pursuing  business 
studies  in  the  surroundings  and  atmosphere  of  the 
university  are  more  apt  to  be  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  a  regular  collegiate  course  of  study, 
and  are  much  more  likely  to  enter  upon  it,  than 
when  pursuing  business  studies  in  an  exclusively 
business  college. 

18  273 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

JOURNALISM. 

Journalism  was  agitated  in  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity as  early  as  1852,  when  the  Board  of  Trustees 
heartily  recommended  the  publication  of  a  mag- 
azine, but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  project  ever 
got  beyond  this  resolution  stage.  In  1864,  twelve 
years  later,  the  Board  of  Trustees  again  recom- 
mended the  publication  of  a  magazine,  authorizing 
the  issue  of  the  first  number  as  soon  as  two  thou- 
sand subscribers  should  be  obtained.  This  require- 
ment of  two  thousand  advance  subscribers  proved 
practically  prohibitive,  and  gave  a  quietus  to  a  col- 
lege journal  for  another  twelve  years  when,  in  Jan- 
uary, 1876,  the  first  number  of  the  Otterbein  Dial 
was  issued  under  the  auspices  of  the  faculty  and 
students  of  the  university.  Professor  J.  E.  Guitner 
served  as  managing  editor,  and  Professor  Thomas 
McFadden  as  publisher,  and  the  remaining  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty  as  editorial  contributors, 
while  the  students  were  encouraged  to  contribute. 
It  was  a  very  respectable  college  journal,  as  any 
one  who  is  familiar  with  the  literary  ability  of 
Professor  Guitner  would  expect.  The  journal  was 
issued  monthly,  ten  months  in  a  year,  at  $1.00  per 
year.  The  journal  was  undoubtedly  useful  to  the 
university,  but  as  the  members  of  the  faculty  were 
heavily  burdened  with  work  before  they  assumed 
this  gratuitous  editorial  service,  the  journal  proved 
to  be  short  lived.  In  1880  the  first  number  of  the 
Otterbein  Record,  with  Bev.  J.  S.  Mills  (now 
bishop),  as  managing  editor,  with  students  occu- 
pying all  other  positions,  was  issued.  There  is 
evidence  that  the  original  intention  was  to  have 
274 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

members  from  all  the  college  societies  represented, 
but  it  became,  in  time,  the  distinctive  project  of 
the  Philophronean  Literary  Society.  Prof.  J.  E. 
Guitner  succeeded  Rev.  J.  S.  Mills  as  managing 
editor,  who  in  turn  veas  succeeded  by  J.  P.  Sin- 
clair, a  student,  who  served  until  the  suspension  of 
the  journal  in  1885.  It  was  an  excellent  college 
journal,  well  edited,  and  it  faithfully  and  impar- 
tially represented  the  interests  and  reflected  the 
life  of  the  university. 

In  1890  the  Otterhein  Aegis,  of  the  same  gen- 
eral character,  and  under  the  same  auspices,  was 
established  and  has  ever  since  been  issued  by  the 
Philophronean  Publishing  Company.  It  is  a 
monthly,  issued  ten  months  in  the  year,  at  the  very- 
reasonable  subscription  rat©  of  fifty  cents  per  an- 
num. It  has  well  maintained  the  high  standard 
of  its  predecessor,  the  Record,  and  has  not  simply 
chronicled  the  events  of  importance  in  the  local 
work  of  the  university  and  the  notable  achieve- 
ments of  its  sons  and  daughters  abroad,  but  has 
pub  to  record  much  of  the  best  literary  output  of 
the  university  during  the  period  of  its  publication. 
It  has  been  very  loyal  and  faithful  to  the  univer- 
sity, and  has  rendered  very  effective  service  in  pro- 
moting its  interests  and  welfare. 

BUILDINGS. 

Incidentally  most  of  the  buildings  have  already 
been  mentioned,  and  not  much  more  ne^  be  said 
about  them.  The  two  original  buildings,  the  frame 
chapel,  and  the  brick  dormitory,  long  since  ceased 
to  be  used  for  college  purposes,  though  a  portion 

275 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

of  the  frame,  built  about  1839,  lias  quite  recently 
again  conie  intoi  the  possession  of  tbe  university; 
the  Flick  lot,  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Grove  and 
Park  streets,  on  the  north  side  of  which  it  stands, 
having  been  purchased  by  the  university.  Since 
its  removal  from  the  campus  in  the  70's,  it  has 
been  used  as  a  residence,  and  many  students  have 
from  time  to  time  occupied  rooms  in  it.  The  three- 
story  brick  dormitory,  sometimes  to  disting-uish  it 
from  Saum  Hall,  called  the  old  ladies'  hall,  the 
adjective  "old"  qualifying  hall,  and  not  ladies,  was 
torn  down  in  1871,  and  the  brick  were  used  in  the 
present  main  building,  as  has  been  before  stated. 
The  only  other  building  which  has  gone  out  of 
service  is  the  main  building  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1870,  an  account  of  which  has  been 
given.  The  buildings  now  in  service  in  the  work 
of  the  university,  including  the  heating-plant  and 
president's  residence,  are  seven.  The  oldest  of  the 
buildings  which  remain  is  Saum  Science  Hall, 
erected  in  1855,  originally  as  a  gentlemen's  dor- 
mitory, later  used  as  a  ladies'  dormitory,  and  in 
1898  remodeled  into  a  science  hall.  It  is  a  rec- 
tangle 75x30,  three  stories,  and  is  occupied  by  the 
professors  of  physics  and  chemistry,  and  biology 
and  geology,  and  contains  chemical,  physical,  and 
biological  laboratories,  with  cabinets  of  minerals 
and  plants,  and  equipment  for  all  the  students  the 
building  will  accommodate.  Its  original  cost  was 
about  $5,600.  A  larger  and  better  science  hall  is 
one  of  the  urgent  needs  of  the  university. 

The  Davis  Conservatory  building,  standing  on 
the  northeast  corner  of  Grove  street  and  College 

276 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

Avenue,  was  built  in  1856  by  President  L.  Davis, 
as  a  residence,  and  was  occupied  by  him  until 
1871,  when  he  was  called  tO'  a  professorship  in 
Union  Biblical  Seminary,  Dayton,  Ohio.  In  1888 
the  property  came  into  the  possession  of  the  uni- 
versity, partly  as  a  gift,  partly  by  purchase,  and 
has  since  been  used  as  a  conservatory.  The  depart- 
ment of  music  has  quit©  outgrown  the  accommoda- 
tions afforded  by  this  building,  and  the  proposition 
of  Mr.  George  A.  Lambert,  of  Anderson,  Indiana, 
a  stanch  friend  and  liberal  benefactor  of  the  uni- 
versity, to  give  $25,000  for  a  conservatory  and  art 
building,  is  most  opportune. 

The  main  building,  of  which  some  account  has 
already  been  given,  stands  in  the  east  middle  of 
the  beautiful  campus  of  eight  acres,  is  a  fine  struc- 
ture, fronting  east,  facing  the  west  end  of  College 
Avenue,  the  central  part  rising  three  stories  above 
the  basement,  170x104,  and  was  erected  in 
1870-71.  Besides  commodious  recitation-rooms,  it 
contains  the  library  rooms,  art  rooms,  four  ele- 
gantly furnished  literary  society  halls,  and  the 
college  chapel.  It  also*  contains  the  offices  of  the 
president  and  the  treasurer  of  the  university,  and 
in  the  basement  the  living  rooms  of  the  janitor  and 
his  family.  The  building  cost  about  $40,000,  is 
in  good  condition,  after  having  been  in  service  for 
thirty-six  years,  and  is  still  well  adapted  to  the 
purposes  of  the  university. 

The  Christian  Association  and  gymnasium 
building  was  erected  in  1892-93,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$16,500.  It  stands  on  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
campus,  covering  the  ground  on  which  the  white 

277 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

frame  chapel,  the  original  main  building,  used  to 
stand.  A  sufficient  account  of  it  is  given  in  the 
preceding  chapter. 

The  power-house  of  the  heating-plant,  erected 
during  the  present  college  year,  a  sightly  building 
of  concrete  block,  stands  on  the  college  campus 
directly  west  of  the  main  college-building  and  the 
athletic  grounds  on  Maple  Street.  The  entire  plant 
was  put  in  at  a  cost  of  about  $20,000,  and  heats 
all  the  buildings  of  the  university.  The  univer- 
sity is  indebted  to  John  W.  Ruth,  the  Thomas 
brothers,  W.  R.  and  James  P.,  W.  W.  Dempsey, 
E.  M.  Gross,  and  others  for  generous  gifts  for  this 
fine  heating-plant. 

The  president's  residence  is  the  Walker-Good- 
speed-Sibel  house,  which  stood  on  the  southeast 
comer  of  Grove  and  Home  streets.  The  older 
students  will  remember  it  as  the  residence  which 
Ralph  M.  Walker  built  and  occupied  while  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  university.  It  stood  on  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  Cochran  Memorial  Hall.  It  was 
moved  across  Grove  Street  to  the  north  end  of  the 
Saum  Science  Hall  lot.  In  its  new  location  it  has 
been  remodeled  and  greatly  improved,  and  is 
henceforth  to  serve  as  the  residence  of  the  pres- 
ident. 

Cochran  Memorial  Hall,  the  last  of  the  seven 
buildings  of  the  university  now  in  service,  was 
erected  during  the  sixtieth  anniversary  year,  and 
was  first  occupied  by  the  lady  students,  for  whose 
comfort  it  was  built,  at  the  opening  of  the  winter 
term  in  January  last.  It  is  a  splendid  building, 
capable  of  receiving  to  its  up-to-date  and  unsur- 

278 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

passed  conveniences  and  comforts  at  its  full 
capacity,  seventy-eight  girls.  The  building  fronts 
100  feet  on  Grove  Street,  by  86  feet  on  Home 
Street.  From  the  basement  to  the  third  floor  the 
"walls  are  of  concrete  and  cement  blocks,  and  from 
the  third  floor  to  the  fifth  floor  of  the  roof  story 
they  are  of  Everal  brick,  with  every  floor  in  ser- 
vice. For  this  fine  and  much-needed  building  the 
university  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cochran, 
of  Dawson,  Pa.,  who  gave  $31,000,  the  entire  sum 
needed  for  its  erection.  It  stands  as  a  fitting  and 
beautiful  memorial  of  her  noble  husband,  Philip 
G.  Cochran,  who  in  the  early  60's  and  70's  of  the 
last  century  trod  the  campus  and  frequented  the 
halls  of  the  university  as  a  student;  at  the  same 
time  it  will  be  a  blessing  to  generation  after 
generation  of  gifted  and  aspiring  girls,  to  whom  it 
will  afford  a  pleasant  home  while,  as  students,  they 
are  preparing  themselves  to  bear  a  worthy  part  in 
the  world's  great  field  of  service.  This  generous 
gift  of  Mrs.  Cochran,  which  she  has  since  in- 
creased by  $5,000  to  the  endowment,  practically 
one  gift  of  $36,000,  is  altogether  the  largest  single 
gift  the  university  has  ever  received,  and  it  is  a 
fitting  climax  and  crown  of  sixty  years  of  benefac- 
tions. The  university  has  had  other  very  liberal 
benefactors  in  the  past  sixty  years,  as  John  Hulitt, 
of  Hillsboro,  and  George  A.  Lambert,  of  Ander- 
son, Indiana,  whose  propositions  to  the  university, 
when  fully  executed,  will  leave  them  little  in  the 
rear,  if  they  do  not  indeed  bring  them  to  Mrs. 
Cochran's  side.  So,  also,  D.  L.  Rike,  of  blessed 
memory,  will  not  fall  very  far  short;  while  Solo- 

279 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

mon  Keister,  now  deceased,  and  his  family,  and 
John  Thomas,  Sr,,  and  his  family,  and  Mrs.  Har- 
riet Smith,  and  others  will  not  follow  very  far  off. 

LIBRA.EIES. 

The  humble  beginnings  of  the  libraries  of  the 
university  and  of  the  literary  societies,  and  of 
their  destruction  by  fire  in  1870,  have  already 
been  set  forth,  and  it  remains  simply  to  state  their 
present  extent  and  character.  The  college  library, 
which  now  includes  the  libraries  of  the  Philoma- 
thean  and  Philophronean  societies,  contains  over 
twelve  thousand  volumes  and  about  half  as  many 
pamphlets.  Reading  tables,  supplied  with  the  best 
magazines  and  papers,  are  maintained  by  the  uni- 
versity, and  by  each  of  the  four  literary  societies. 
For  reading  and  reference  all  books  and  magazines 
are  free  to  all  students ;  for  withdrawal  of  books, 
the  college  library  is  free  to  all  students,  and  the 
Philomathean  and  Philophronean  to  members. 

The  college  library  is  classified  and  catalogued 
according  to  the  Dewey  system,  and  all  is  made 
readily  accessible  by  means  of  classification,  in- 
dexes, bibliographies,  etc.  The  library  is  open  six 
hours  each  school  day,  and  two  hours  on  Saturday, 
and  students  are  encouraged  to  use  its  resources 
freely  as  aids  to  class-rooni  work  and  to  general 
culture. 

The  matriculation  fee  of  one  dollar  per  year 
paid  by  each  student,  is  devoted  to  the  purchase  of 
books  for  the  library,  and  a  number  of  volumes  are 
received  each  year  by  gift.  The  gentlemen's  liter- 
ary societies  have  gathered  small  endowments,  by 

280 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

means  of  the  revenue  from  this  additions  are 
made  to  their  libraries  from  time  to  time,  but  the 
college  library  has  had  no  endowment.  A  recent 
addition  of  over  $20,000  has  been  made  to  the 
endowment  to  meet  the  condition  of  a  proposition 
of  $20,000  from  Andrew  Carnegie  to  erect  a  li- 
brary building,  the  proceeds  of  which  will  be  avail- 
able for  the  keeping  up  of  the  library. 

Since  1871  the  college  and  society  libraries  have 
been  kept  in  two  large  rooms,  opening  into  each 
other,  in  the  central  front  second  floor  of  the  main 
coUegehbuilding.  In  recent  years  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  bring  into  service  another  room  ad- 
joining on  the  south,  but  with  no  opening  between, 
as  an  annex.  The  crowded  and  exposed  condition 
of  the  library  in  these  rooms  renders  the  gift  of 
Mr.  Carnegie  for  a  library  building  very  oppor- 
tune. The  plans  for  the  building  have  been  ap- 
proved, and  it  will  doubtless  be  erected  at  an  early 
day,  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  conservatory 
building,  the  university  having  recently  purchased 
what  is  known  as  the  Cooper  corner,  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Grove  Street  and  College  Avenue,  for  the 
new  conservatory  and  art  building. 

KHETOKIC  AND  PUBLIC  SPEAKING. 

ITrom  the  beginning  instruction  and  drill  in 
composition  and  public  speaking  was  given  in 
some  form.  In  the  catalogue  of  1848,  the  first 
ever  issued,  appear  these  words:  "Particular  at- 
tention is  given  to  composition  and  declamation. 
Each  student  is  required  to  read  a  composition 
every  alternate  Saturday,  and  two  declamations 

281 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

are  made  each  morning  in  the  presence  of  the 
school."  When  the  number  of  students  increased, 
they  were  divided  into  what  were  called  rhetorical 
classes,  which  were  assigned  to  different  professors 
and  met  weekly,  usually  on  Saturday  morning. 
Later  it  became  the  custom  to  hold,  besides  these 
private  rhetorical  exercises,  public  rhetorical  exer- 
cises, in  which  only  the  advance  students  took  part. 
These  public  rhetorical  exercises  attracted  great 
audiences,  and  students  generally  greatly  prized 
the  privilege  of  participating  in  them.  These  pub- 
lic rhetoricals  were  at  first  held  monthly,  later  at 
longer  intervals,  and  finally  were  entirely  aban- 
doned. At  a  later  date,  when  the  university  made 
better  provision  for  rhetorical  instruction  in  its 
courses  of  study,  these  weekly  rhetorical  exercises 
were  discontinued.  The  university,  however,  con- 
tinued to  encourage  special  rhetorical  instruction 
by  permitting  professional  elocutionists  to  organ- 
ize voluntary  classes  for  instruction,  at  the  expense 
of  the  students  who  attended  them.  Teachers  of 
elocution  and  oratory  have  at  other  times  been 
members  of  the  faculty  as  instructors,  depending 
upon  the  tuition  paid  by  the  students  for  this  in- 
struction for  their  compensation.  At  the  present 
time  there  is  a  regular  professor  of  elocution  and 
public  speaking,  and  his  work  is  incorporated  in 
the  courses  offered  by  the  university.  For  a  nimi- 
ber  of  years  the  students  have  maintained  an  ora- 
torical association,  and  have  participated  in  inter- 
collegiate contests,  sometimes  winning  and  some- 
times losing,  but,  upon  the  whole,  in  a  way  to  win 
credit  for  themselves  and  reflect  credit  upon  the 

282 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

university.  The  ability  of  graduates  and  students 
of  the  university,  both  men  and  women,  to  think 
upon  their  feet,  and  present  their  thoughts  upon 
the  public  platform  with  skill  and  force,  has  long 
been  noted. 

It  has  before  been  explained  how  the  fact  that 
Otterbein  University  was  an  anti-slavery  center, 
and  an  active  temperance  champion  in  the  days 
before  the  war,  attracted  to  its  platform  dis- 
tinguished representatives  of  both  these  reforms. 
From  an  early  day,  too,  lecture  courses  have  been 
sustained  in  one  way  and  another,  sometimes  by 
the  literary  societies,  sometimes  by  the  senior 
class,  and  sometimes  by  the  Church  and  other 
Christian  organizations;  but  no  method  ever  so 
united  all  classes  in  support  of  high-grade  courses 
of  lectures  and  entertainments  as  what  has  been 
known  as  the  Citizen's  Lecture  Course,  organized 
some  fifteen  years  ago,  and  continued  every  year 
since.  The  policy  of  this  course  has  been  that  no 
one  make  money,  but  that  the  patrons  receive  the 
full  value  of  all  the  money  realized  in  entertain- 
ments. This  policy  has  enabled  the  management 
to  offer  six  high-grade  lectures  and  entertainments 
for  the  nominal  sum  of  one  dollar  for  the  season. 
By  this  method  the  revenue  has  been  sufficient,  not 
simply  to  sustain  the  course,  but  frequently  to  offer 
one  or  more  extra  entertainments  without  increase 
of  cost.  The  revenue  from  the  course  the  past  sea- 
son was  over  $800. 

The  university,  as  yet,  has  no  fund  of  conse- 
quence to  aid  needy  students.  The  children  of 
itinerant    and    superannuated    ministers    of    the 

283 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Church  are  admitted  at  a  rate  reduced  by  about 
one-third  the  regular  tuition,  and  the  general 
Board  of  Education  of  the  Church,  upon  applica- 
tion, gives  some  aid  to  needy  students  who  are  pre- 
paring for  the  ministry  or  for  missionary  work. 
Some  years  ago  Mr.  George  E.  Welshans,  of 
Bedington,  West  Virginia,  gave  $1,000  to  establish 
the  George  E.  Welshans  Memorial  Scholarship,  the 
proceeds  to  be  used  tO'  aid  needy  and  worthy  stu- 
dents. It  is  to  be  hoped  that  many  other  scholar- 
ships of  similar  character  may  be  established.  The 
tuition  fee  of  $50  per  annum,  Avhile  moderate, 
when  added  to  other  necessary  expenses  makes  a 
heavy  sum,  and  tlie  worthy  poor  need  and  deserve 
help. 

SEMI-CENTENNIAL  CELEBKATION. 

The  commencement  of  1897  was  the  semi-cen- 
tennial anniversary  of  the  founding  of  Otterbein 
University,  and  it  was  deemed  well  to  signalize 
the  occasion  by  a  suitable  celebration.  The  fol- 
lowing account  of  it  appeared  in  the  Otterbein 
Aegis,  the  college  journal,  and  will  give  the  reader 
a  good  idea  of  the  occasion : 

''On  the  morning  of  June  23,  just  as  the  sun  be- 
gan to  shoot  its  rays  over  the  village,  the  old  col- 
lege bell  began  to  peal  out  over  the  village,  an- 
nouncing to  the  people  the  semi-centennial  and 
day  of  golden  jubilee  of  Otterbein  University. 
Early  in  the  day  the  village  was  all  activity,  and 
from  every  store,  shop,  and  residence,  beautiful 
flags  were  floating  and  playing  in  the  wind.  The 
vilhige  put  on  its  best  attire  in  commemoration  of 
the  day  and  the  event.    Everybody  was  happy,  and 

284 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

the  greetings  of  old  alumni  and  ex-students  so 
abounded  that  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  graduates  and 
ex-students  had  returned  once  more  to  the  college. 
'No  one  was  happier  than  our  good  President  San- 
ders. In  fact,  all  the  members  of  the  faculty,  their 
wives  and  children,  had  a  kindly  greeting  for  each 
and  all. 

^'For  the  happy  celebration  of  this  event  every- 
body about  the  college  had  worked  enthusiastically 
and  earnestly;  and  how  well  they  did  their  work 
those  who  were  here  to  participate  alone  can 
testify.  But  it  was  a  grand  success  in  every  par- 
ticular, and  praise  and  credit  cannot  be  too  largely 
bestowed  upon  those  who  contributed  so  much  to 
the  success  of  the  occasion. 

"We  give  the  program  in  full,  as  it  was  fol- 
lowed on  that  day.  It  would  be  rich  and  profitable 
reading,  and  of  great  permanent  value,  to  have  in 
print  all  the  addresses  and  the  doings  of  the  sev- 
eral classes  in  their  reunions;  but  this  is  beyond 
the  possibilities  of  the  Aegis.  The  program  as 
presented  was  carried  out  in  full,  and  our  readers 
need  only  to  read  carefully  to  understand  as  well 
as  we  have  space  to  tell  of  the  memorable  event. 

MASS-MEETING   IN   COLLEGE   CHAPEL. 

Invocation — By    Rev.    George    A.    Funkhouser,    D.D., 
LL.D.,  Class  '68,  Dayton,  Ohio. 

Music— "Wedding  March"   Mendelssohn 

Misses  Martha  Newcomb,  Honori  Cornell,  Ada 
Bovey,  Pearl  Seeley,  Edith  Updegrave,  and 
EfBe  Richer. 

Historical    Sketch— Ex-President     Henry    Garst,     D.D., 
Class  '61,  Westerville,  Ohio. 

285 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Memorial  Address — Ex-President  H.  A.  Thompson,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  Dayton,  Ohio. 

Semi-Centennial    Ode— Mrs.    L.    K.    Miller,    M.A.,    Class 
'58,  Dayton,  Ohio. 

"Otterbein  University  and  the  Education  of  Woman" — 
Mrs.  L.  R.  Harford,  M.A.,  Class  '72,  Omaha,  Neb. 

Music — "Galop  di  Bravoura"    Schulhoff 

Misses  Ada  Bovey,   Pearl  Seeley,  Effie  Richer, 
and  Edith  Updegrave. 

"The  Future  Work  of  Otterbein"— Bishop  E.  B,  Kephart, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Class  '65,  Baltimore,  Md, 

2:  00  p.  M. 

Class  Reunions,   Reunions    of    Former    Students,    and 
Trustees. 

3:  30  p.  M.  (SHABP.) 

Grand  Parade  of  Trustees,    Professors,    Graduates    by 

Classes,  Students,  Friends,  Citizens. 

(Line  of  March:   From  the  college  east  on  College 

Avenue  to  State  Street,  north  on  State  to  Main, 

west   on   Main   to   Saum   Hall,  thence  to   College 

Campus.) 

4:  00  P.  M. 

Mass-Meeting    in     front    of     Main      College     Building. 
Addresses  by  Bishop  J.  W.  Hott,  D.D.,  Rev.  W.  J. 
Shuey,  and  others. 

"While  the  speeches  in  the  forenoon  were  all  of 
the  very  best,  yet  the  greatest  attraction  of  the  day 
was  the  parade  of  the  afternoon.  All  the  graduat- 
ing classes  except  those  of  '57,  '62,  '63,  '67,  '71, 
'73,  '79,  and  '80  were  represented.  A  register  was 
kept  and  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  alumni 
were  in  the  parade.  It  was  a  grand  and  imposing 
scene  as  the  big  line  of  alumni,  students,  and  citi- 
zens, headed  by  Messrs,  Jacob  Beard  and  Jonathan 
Park,  students  here  in  1847  when  the  college 
started,   marched  down  the  College  Avenue  and 

286 


Music,  Art,  and  Other  Features 

back  on  Main  to  Saiim  Hall  and  to  tlie  campus, 
where  the  final  speeches  occurred.  Class  yells  and 
songs  of  every  description  were  heard,  and  every- 
body thoroughly  enjoyed  the  whole  affair.  It  was 
a  memorable  occasion,  and  all  who  joined  in  may 
well  feel  proud  of  the  part  they  took.  The  day 
closed  with  the  alumnal  celebration  and  banquet." 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  all  who  spoke  at  the 
semi-centennial  celebration  and  golden  jubilee  ten 
years  ago,  except  the  two  bishops,  E.  B,  Kephart 
and  J.  W.  Hott,  are  now,  on  this  sixtieth  anniver- 
sary and  diamond  jubilee  of  the  university,  still 
living. 


287 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

Early  History  of  Westerville — Its  Growth  and  Progress. 

Westerville  had  an  educational  purpose  from 
its  origin.  Mathew  and  Peter  Westervelt,  sub- 
stantial farmers,  o"\vned  tlie  land  on  which  it 
stands.  In  1838  Mathew  gave  twenty-five  acres, 
and  Peter  two  adjoining  acres,  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  for  the  purpose  of  founding 
the  Blendon  Yoimg  Men's  Seminary.  Eight  acres 
were  reserved  for  a  campus,  and  the  remaining 
nineteen  acres  were  platted  into  lots  and  sold  for 
the  benefit  of  the  seminary,  and  became  the  town 
of  Westerville,  the  name  Westervelt  being  changed 
to  Westerville.  In  1839,  after  a  heavy  maple 
forest  had  been  cleared  off  the  eight  acres  reserved 
for  a  campus,  the  two  buildings  before  described 
were  erected,  and  the  seminary  began,  with  Rev. 
I.  C.  Kingsley  as  principal.  How  this  property 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  United  Brethren 
Church  and  became  Otterbein  University,  in 
1847,  is  explained  in  a  previous  chapter.  At  the 
time  of  the  transfer  Westerville  was  very  young 
and  very  small,  with  one  principal  north  and 
south  street,  called  State  Street,  from  the  State 
Road,  from  Columbus  to  Cleveland,  of  which  it 
forms  a  part.  The  college  buildings  are  on  a 
parallel   street.,    two   squares   west,   called   Grove 

288 


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Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

Street.  There  were  two  short  parallel  streets  west 
of  Grove  Street,  now  called  Maple  and  West 
streets,  Maple  Street  bounding  the  college  campus 
on  the  west.  There  were  two  intersecting  east  and 
west  streets,  now  Park  Street  and  College  Avenue. 
The  present  Main  Street  was  a  driveway  which, 
from  State  to  Grove  streets,  could  hardly  be  called 
a  street,  because  a  deep  swamp  covered  it  and  adja- 
cent ground  and  rendered  it  impassable,  especially 
after  a  heavy  rain.  From  Grove  it  extended  only 
to  West  Street.  The  outlet  west  was  by  Park 
Street,  which  passes  the  college  campus  on  the 
south;  it  then  extended  to  Alum  Creek,  which 
was  crossed  by  a  ford  when  the  water  was  not  too 
high,  giving  the  most  direct  rout©  to  Worthington. 
Later  a  bridge  was  constructed  over  Alum  Creek 
on  the  extension  of  Main  Street,  the  ford  being 
abandoned,  and  Park  Street  has  since  ended  at 
West  Street.  College  Avenue  then  extended  only 
from  Grove  Street  to  State,  but  when  the  C.  A.  and 
C.  Railroad  was  built  the  avenue  was  extended  to 
reach  the  station,  and  to  the  east  corporation  line. 
In  1847  there  were  no  streets  extending  east  in- 
tersecting State  Street,  and  no  streets  parallel  to 
State  east  of  State.  Then  the  outlet  east  was  by 
the  road  called  Bishop's  Lane,  now  Walnut  Street, 
about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  south  of  College  Ave- 
nue, and  by  the  county  road  at  the  north  corpora- 
tion line,  as  now. 

The  only  means  of  reaching  Westerville  by  pub- 
lic conveyance  in  those  early  days  was  by  a  hack 
which  ran  to  Columbus  and  back  every  other  day, 
carrying  also  the  mail.     The  author's  first  trip  to 

19  289 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Westerville  as  a  student  in  1853,  when  a  lad  of 
seventeen,  illustrates  the  difficulties  and  uncer- 
tainties of  this  mode  of  conveyance.  He  reached 
Columbus  on  the  off  day,  when  no  hack  ran,  so  he 
hired  a  liveryman  to  take  him  out  in  a  buggy. 
After  a  tedious  drive  a  little  town,  which  the 
driver  said  was  Westerville,  was  reached,  and  a 
massive  old-fashioned  brick  building  in  a  large 
campus  was  pointed  out  as  Otterbein  University. 
The  lad  never  having  seen  Westerville,  accepted 
the  driver's  statement  without  question.  The 
driver  halted  in  front  of  a  small  frame  building 
which  he  said  was  the  hotel,  when  he  alighted  and 
his  trunk  was  taken  into  the  front  room,  and  din- 
ner was  ordered,  while  the  driver  proceeded  to  the 
stable  with  horse  and  buggy.  Soon  a  group  of  tall, 
angular  young  men,  evidently  students,  entered 
the  room  and  surveyed  the  strange  youth  with  in- 
quiring looks.  Presently  the  tallest  of  the  group 
noticed  the  card  on  his  trunk  directed  to  Wester- 
ville, and  substantially  the  following  dialogue 
was  carried  on  between  the  tall  young  man  and 
the  lad : 

Tall  Young  Man:     "Are  you  goinai:  to  Wester- 
ville ?" 

Lad  (in  astonishment)  :    "Am  I  not  in  Wester- 
ville?" 

Tall  Young  Man :    "You  are  not." 
Lad :     "Well,  where  am  I  then  ?" 
Tall  Young  Man :    "In  Central  College,  sir." 
Lad :    "Where,  then,  is  Westerville  ?" 
Tall    Young    Man:      "Three    miles   northwest 
across  the  country." 

290 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

The  lad  at  once  hastened  to  the  stable  and  in- 
formed the  driver  of  the  discovery  he  had  made. 
The  driver  replied  that  he  must  have  mistaken 
the  road,  and  promised  to  take  him  to  Westerville 
after  dinner,  which  he  did. 

When  the  lad  learned  of  the  rather  intense 
rivalry  which  at  that  time  existed  between  the 
Central  College  Academy  and  Otterbein  Univer- 
sity, a  suspicion  seized  him,  of  which  he  has  never 
been  able  entirely  to  rid  himself,  that  the  driver 
did  not  mistake  the  road,  but  was  a  partisan  of  the 
academy,  and  hoped  to  divert  a  student  from  the 
university  to  the  academy. 

When  the  university  increased  in  attendance 
the  hack  made  daily  trips,  and  the  business  was 
sometimes  enlivened  and  the  fare  cheapened  by 
competing  hack  lines.  For  a  number  of  years 
Mr.  George  Stoner,  father-in-law  of  Rev.  John  C. 
Bright,  a  very  energetic  and  public-spirited  citi- 
zeU;  ran  the  hack-line.  He  took  great  pride  in 
making  quick  time.  He  procured  a  span  of 
spirited  and  quick  horses,  and  won  the  applause 
of  students  and  others  by  covering  the  distance 
between  Westerville  and  Columbus,  twelve  miles, 
in  one  and  one-half  hours,  and  in  cases  of  urgency 
in  even  less  time.  Mr.  Stoner  was  also^  of  great 
service  to  Westerville  in  the  number  of  substan- 
tial buildings  he  erected.  The  Stoner  House, 
bearing  his  name,  the  residence  now  owned  and 
occupied  by  Professor  Meyer,  both  on  State  Street, 
the  West-Park  residence  on  Plimi  Street,  and 
other  houses  were  built  by  him.  A  characteristic 
incident    during    the    period    of    hack-line    com- 

291 


Histoiy  of  Otterbein  University 

munication  between  Westerville  and  Columbus,  is 
recalled.  It  was  during  a  commencement  occasion 
in  the  time  of  the  War  of  the  Kebellion.  The 
Democratic  Convention,  which  met  in  Columbus, 
had  nominated  Hon.  C.  L.  Vallandigham,  of 
Dayton,  Ohio,  whom  Lincoln  had  sent  across  the 
rebel  lines  on  account  of  his  treasonable  speeches, 
for  governor,  and  a  hack-load  of  delegates  were 
coming  north  from  Columbus  on  their  way  home, 
while  a  hack-full  of  students  and  others  was  mov- 
ing south  on  the  same  road.  As  the  hacks  passed, 
a  delegate  shouted,  "Hurrah  for  Vallandigham !" 
This  was  too  much  for  a  hack-full  of  intense  anti- 
slavery  Unionists,  and  Philip  H.  Kumler,  after- 
wards for  many  years  a  judge  in  Cincinnati, 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  shouted  back,  "Traitors! 
traitors!"  which  brought  a  return  volley  of 
epithets,  and  matters  looked  belligerent  for  a 
while,  but  the  drivers  kept  the  hacks  moving  at 
full  speed,  and  a  battle  in  the  I^orth  was  averted. 
When  the  election  took  place  the  people  resented 
his  nomination  by  electing  his  opponent,  John 
Brough,  by  the  then  unheard-of  majority  of  over 
100,000.  At  a  later  period  a  hack-line  was  estab- 
lished to  Flint,  a  station  on  the  Big  Four  Rail- 
road three  miles  west  of  Westerville,  which  greatly 
shortened  the  hack  route ;  but  the  road  to  Flint  led 
through  a  swamp  near  the  west  end,  and  was  at 
times  almost  impassable,  and  so  the  route  was  far 
from  satisfactory.  So,  when  there  was  a  proposi- 
tion to  build  the  C.  A.  &  C.  Railroad,  the  citizens 
of  Westerville  took  great  interest  in  the  enter- 
prise, and  contributed  a  bonus  of  about  $20,000 

292 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westcrville 

to  assure  tlie  road ;  and  when  it  was  completed,  in 
1873,  there  was  great  rejoicing.  In  1894  the 
traction  line,  one  of  the  oldest  interurban  lines  in 
the  State,  was  built,  and  now  there  is  hourly,  and 
certain  portions  of  the  day  half-hourly  communi- 
cation Avith  Columbus,  the  capital  of  the  State, 
giving  to  Westerville  practically  all  the  advantages 
of  a  great  city,  and  by  becoming  readily  accessible 
to  such  a  railroad  and  traction  center  as  Colum- 
bus, Westerville  has  become  readily  accessible  to 
all  parts  of  the  State  and  country. 

When  Otterbein  University  was  founded,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  was  the  only  church  in 
Westerville.  As  early  as  1807  and  1808  Metho- 
dist ministers  preached  to  the  Delaware  and  Wyan- 
dot Indians,  who  occupied  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try, and  to  the  few  white  settlers  who  had  found 
their  way  to  the  country  east  and  west  of  Alum 
Creek,  near  where  Westerville  now  stands.  The 
preaching,  down  to  1818,  was  done  in  log  school- 
houses  and  single  and  double  log  houses  in  which 
the  pioneers  lived.  There  were  also  camp-meet- 
ings held  in  the  woods  in  the  summer  time.  In 
1817  there  was  a  camp-meeting  held  on  the  banks 
of  Alum  Creek  which  resulted  in  a  great  revival, 
during  which  many  of  the  early  settlers  were 
brought  into  the  church,  and  in  1818,  some  claim 
not  until  1821,  a  church-building,  constructed  out 
of  hewn  logs,  was  erected  on  the  State  road  south 
of  Westerville,  near  where  the  C.  A.  &  C.  railroad 
crosses  the  road.  Here  the  services  of  the  Metho- 
dists were  held  until  1838,  the  year  in  which  Blen- 
don  Yoimg  Men's  Seminary  was  projected,  which 

293 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

fixed  the  location  of  Westerville,  when  the 
Methodists  erected  a  brick  church  on  the  lot  on 
State  Street,  which  has  ever  since  been  the  lot 
occupied  by  them.  The  present  Methodist  Church 
building  was  erected  in  1887,  and  is  the  best 
church  in  the  town.  Among  the  pastors  who  have 
served  the  church  may  be  named  L.  Taft,  C.  L. 
Van  Auday,  S.  Tippet,  H.  H.  Hall,  W.  H.  Mc- 
Clintock,  Pilcher  Sr.,  and  Pilcher  Jr.,  J.  Mitchell, 
A.  Carroll,  R.  H.  Wallace,  L.  Cunningham,  J.  C. 
Jackson,  Sr.,  C.  A.  l^aylor,  W.  McLaughlen,  L.  F. 
Postle,  W.  D.  Gray,  W.  F.  Jones,  R.  D.  Morgan, 
T.  H.  Bradrick,  A.  F.  Hixon,  I.  M.  Brashares,  N. 
D.  Cramer,  J.  E.  Eudisill,  G.  A.  Marshall,  W.  L. 
Alexander,  and  the  present  pastor,  A.  A.  Sayre. 
For  just  a  century  now  the  Methodists  have  la- 
bored in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  have  ren- 
dered an  important  service  in  the  religious  de- 
velopjment  and  culture  of  the  people. 

The  Presbyterian  church  of  Westerville  was 
erected  on  West  College  Avenue  in  1864,  seventeen 
years  after  Otterbein  University  was  founded,  and 
the  United  Brethren  Church  began  its  labors  here. 
The  Westerville  Presbyterian  Church  was  the  re- 
location of  the  Blendon  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  was  situated  on  the  Central  College  Eoad, 
about  two  miles  south  of  Westerville,  and  a  mile 
east  of  the  State  Road,  so  about  three  miles  from 
Westerville.  It  was  organized  in  1820,  and  the 
first  building  erected  in  1829.  Like  the  Metho- 
dists, the  Presbyterians,  as  early  as  1812,  preached 
in  log  schoolhouses  and  log  residences.  Among 
these  was  a  log  schoolhouse  adjoining  the  Jamison 

294 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

Cemetery,  soutli  of  Westerville,  and  the  residence 
of  John  Cooper  and  Robert  McCutchin,  the  lat- 
ter on  the  State  Road  between  the  present  Park 
and  Winter  streets.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  this 
Blendon  Presbyterian  Church  connects  with  an 
educational  institution  at  Central  College  very 
much  as  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  connects 
with  the  Blendon  Young  Men's  Seminary  at 
Westerville.  In  1841  Mr.  Timothy  Lee  appeared 
before  a  committee  of  the  New  School  Synod  of 
Ohio,  and  Presbytery  of  Marion,  in  session  in 
Columbus,  Ohio,  to  chose  a  location  for  a  college, 
with  a  proposition  to  give  one  hundred  acres  of 
land  and  erect,  at  his  own  expense,  all  the  build- 
ings necessary  for  the  use  of  the  college,  provided 
the  institution  was  located  in  Blendon.  The  propo- 
sition was  accepted,  and  the  "Central  College  of 
Ohio"  was  located  upon  the  land  given  by  Mr. 
Lee.  It  was  chartered  by  the  legislature,  and  in 
March,  1842,  five  years  before  the  founding  of 
Ottcrbein  University,  was  formally  organized  by 
the  election  of  Rev.  L.  A.  Sawyer  as  president, 
and  Rev.  Ebenezer  Washburn  as  professor  of 
mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  and  astronomy. 
The  institution  ceased  a  number  of  years  ago. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Tidball  became  pastor  of  the  Blen- 
don and  Mifflin  churches  in  1860,  and  was  re- 
leased from  the  Mifflin  church  in  1864,  when  the 
Blendon  church  moved  to  Westerville,  where  he 
continued  pastor  until  1869.  Since  Mr.  Tidball 
the  church  has  been  served,  first,  temporarily,  by 
Rev.  Henry  Garst,  of  the  university,  then  in  suc- 
cession by  Rev.   H.   M.  Robertson,   Rev.    A.   N". 

295 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Carson,  Rev.  H.  L.  Nave,  Rev.  Thos.  H.  Kohr,  a 
graduate  of  tlie  university;  Rev.  H.  G.  Birchby, 
Rev.  H.  C.  Beeman,  and  Rev.  L,  M.  Shane,  who  is 
the  present  pastor.  Very  cordial  relations  have 
always  existed  between  the  Presbyterian  and 
United  Brethren  churches,  and  they  have  cooper- 
ated to  promote  the  moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
this  college  community. 

The  Evangelical  Association  built  a  church  on 
the  northwest  comer  of  Vine  aud  Winter  streets 
in  1877.  The  members  of  this  church  have  never 
been  numerous  in  Westerville,  but  they  have  been 
an  humble  and  earnest  body  of  believers,  and  their 
influence  and  labors  in  the  community  have  been 
very  good.  The  following  have  been  among  the 
ministers  who  have  served  the  Westerville  church 
as  pastors,  sometimes  serving  it  in  connection  with 
a  stronger  church  in  Columbus:  E.  Wengerd,  A. 
Evans,  W.  W.  Sherrick,  W.  P.  Schott,  A. 
Schwatz,  W.  H.  Munk,  A.  F.  Beery,  L.  B.  Myers, 
W.  L.  ISTauman,  J.  W.  Heininger,  J.  F.  D. 
Schneider. 

There  is  also  a  small  frame  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  on  Plum  Street,  erected  in 
1881.  A  considerable  number  of  colored  people 
came  to  Westerville  during  and  after  the  Civil 
War,  w^ho  had  been  slaves  until,  by  the  terms  of 
the  emancipation  proclamation  issued  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  they  were  set  free.  Among  these  a 
number  came  from  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  in 
Virginia,  where  the  United  Brethren  Church  be- 
gan its  labors  at  a  very  early  period  in  its  history. 
These  had  become  well  acquainted  with  some  of 

296 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

the  prominent  United  Brethren  families  in  Vir- 
ginia in  the  days  of  slavery,  such  as  the  Gloss- 
brenners,  the  Shueys,  the  Biirtners,  the  Funk- 
honsers,  the  Hotts,  and  others.  When  freedom 
came  and  they  came  north,  it  was  natural  that 
they  should  seek  as  a  place  of  residence  an  anti- 
slavery  center  like  Westerville,  among  a  church 
people  whom  they  had  found  to  be  friends  while 
they  were  yet  in  bondage.  Quite  recently  a  prom- 
inent colored  attorney  of  Boston,  who  spent  some 
of  his  youthful  days  in  Westerville,  and  for  a  time 
was  a  student  in  Otterbein  University,  requested 
to  have  his  name  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the 
United  Brethren  Church  here,  desiring  to  be  as- 
sociated with  a  church  which  he  knew  in  his 
boyhood,  and  when  the  end  shall  come,  desiring  to 
repose  in  Otterbein  Cemetery,  where  many  of  his 
race  lie  buried,  and  where  a  number  of  the  white 
champions  of  his  race  await  the  resurrection. 

Some  of  the  colored  people,  however,  concluded 
thai  it  would  be  pleasanter  and  better  for  them  to 
have  a  church  of  their  own,  and  worship  with  a 
congregation  composed  of  their  own  race,  and  so 
this  African  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was 
built,  and  they  have  labored  here  ever  since,  with 
the  general  good  will  and  sympathy  of  the  com- 
munity. The  following  are  some  of  the  ministers 
who  have  served  as  pastors :  IST.  J.  Watson,  G.  W. 
Maxwell,  Alfred  March,  K.  G.  Langford,  S.  W. 
White,  C.  E.  l^'ewsome,  G.  W.  Cotton,  J.  P.  Scho^ 
field,  R.  B.  Lowe,  H.  E.  l^Tewsome,  and  A.  T. 
White,  the  present  pastor. 

As   late   as    1861    there  was   no   public-school 

297 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

building  in  Westerville.  The  first  public-school 
building,  like  the  first  church-building,  was  on  the 
State  Road,  south  of  the  village,  just  south  of 
what  was  called  the  Bishop  residence,  now  the 
home  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Keefer.  It  was  a  building 
with  a  kind  of  attic  story  above,  which  was  used 
as  a  Masonic  lodge  room,  while  the  children  gath- 
ered in  the  room  below  for  instruction.  As  the 
village  grew  this  old  building  was  abandoned,  and 
a  brick  building  of  one  room  was  erected  on  West 
Home  Street.  It  is  yet  standing,  remodeled  into 
a  residence  by  building  a  frame  story  on  top  of  the 
brick,  now  the  home  of  Mr.  Peter  Conklin.  In 
186Y  the  first  building  was  erected  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  Vine  and  Home  streets.  When  this 
was  outgrown,  a  frame  addition  was  extended 
from  the  rear.  In  1896  this  building  was  torn 
down,  and  the  present  excellent  building  was 
erected,  at  a  cost  of  about  $20,000.  It  was  dedi- 
cated with  great  ceremony.  Governor  Asa  Bush- 
nell  gracing  the  occasion  with  his  presence,  and 
delivering  an  address.  The  school  is  thoroughly 
organized  and  well  graded,  and  the  high  school  is 
of  recognized  standard.  The  superintendents, 
from  the  60's  down,  have  been  A.  J.  Willoughby, 
1865-74;  William  Y.  Bartels,  1874-78;  John 
Clark,  1878-82;  D.  C.  Arnold,  1882-85;  T.  M. 
Fonts,  1885-92;  E.  D.  Eesler,  1892-96;  J. 
Walton,  1896-98;  J.  W.  Jones,  1898-00;  L.  A. 
Bennert,  1900-03 ;  and  the  present  encumbent,  J. 

P.  West,  1903 . 

Among  the  lady  graduates   of  the  university 
who  have  served  as  teachers  in  the  school  may  be 

298 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

named  Lillie  Kesler,  Flora  Spangler,  Lizzie 
Hanby,  O.  A.  Bacon,  Cora  Frazier,  May  Andrus, 
May  Irwin,  Lockey  Stewart,  Anna  Baker,  Ger- 
tnide  Scott,  Otis  Flook,  and  Catherine  Barnes. 
Four  of  the  ten  superintendents  were  also  grad- 
uates, and  all  except  three  were  students  of  the 
university.  After  this  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
state  that  the  relations  between  the  public  school 
and  the  university  have  always  been  cordial. 

The  first  village  paper,  as  distinguished  from 
a  college  journal,  was  conducted  by  Mr.  J.  K. 
Farver  in  1868.  It  was  called  the  Reveille.  After 
a  short  career  it  was  succeeded  by  what  was  called 
the  Westerville  Banner,  which  was  first  published 
by  Mr.  E.  J.  Yoakum,  then  by  A.  C.  Elliott,  who 
was  followed  by  Mr.  Milton  Scott.  The  latter  has 
gained  prominence  by  his  earnest  pleas  for  the 
humane  treatment  of  prisoners  while  confined  in 
our  jails  and  penitentiaries.  These  local  papers 
gathered  the  news  of  the  town  and  surrounding 
country,  and  sought  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
village,  giving  special  attention  to  the  interests  of 
Otterbein  University.  The  Banner  was  succeeded 
in  1879  by  the  Westerville  Review,  edited  and 
published  first  by  Mr.  C.  F.  Palmer,  followed  by 
Hal  Landon,  now  editor  of  the  Ohio  Sun,  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  then  by  Mr.  Arthur  Alexander,  and 
finally  by  Mr.  Frank  Gardner,  a  graduate  of  the 
university.  In  1886  the  Westerville  Review  was 
succeeded  by  the  Public  Opinion,  a  name  which 
the  paper  ever  since  has  borne.  The  Public  Opin- 
ion was  first  edited  and  published  by  Capt.  A.  R, 
Keller.     The  captain  was  very  enterprising,  and 

299 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

conducted  the  paper  in  a  very  capable  manner.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Sprague  and  Robinson,  and  they 
in  turn  by  J.  E.  Guitner,  the  professor  of  Greek 
in  Otterbein  University,  and  the  readers  of  Public 
Opinion  had  the  benefit,  during  the  year  1889-90, 
of  the  scholarship  and  literary  taste  of  the  pro- 
fessor. He  sold  the  journal  to  Mr.  C.  A.  Leach, 
■who  was  succeeded  by  Scott  &  Keller,  with  whom 
Mr.  J.  H.  Larimore  was  connected  for  a  number 
of  years;  then,  under  the  corporate  name  of  the 
Buckeye  Printing  Company,  Mr.  Clarence  Met- 
iers in  1906  purchased  a  majority  of  the  stock  and 
became  president  of  the  company  and  editor  of 
Public  Opinion,  who  is  conducting  the  paper  with 
an  energy  and  enterprise  never  surpassed.  The 
paper  gives  in  greater  detail  than  any  Columbus 
paper,  the  local  news  of  Westerville,  and  the  sur- 
rounding towns  of  Worthington,  Galena,  Sunbury, 
and  other  points,  and  with  greater  frequency  than 
is  possible  in  the  monthly  journal  of  the  Philo- 
phronean  Publishing  Company  or  the  quarterly 
Bulletin  issued  by  the  university,  sets  forth  the 
events  and  transactions  of  the  college. 

After  considerable  effort  the  author  has  suc- 
ceeded in  fixing  with  reasonable  certainty  the  date 
of  the  first  hotel  ever  built  in  Westerville.  It  was 
built  by  Mr.  Jotham  Clark  in  1842.  It  stood  on 
State  Street,  now  the  fourth  house  north  of 
Park,  west  side,  counting  Dr.  D.  W.  Coble's  office. 
After  having  stood  in  a  dilapidated  condition  for 
many  years,  and  the  rear,  or  dining-hall  extension 
having  been  torn  down,  the  front  portion  was  re- 
cently remodeled  into  a  residence  by  Mr.  Charles 

300 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

Ackerson,  who  occupies  it.  The  building  ante- 
dates Otterbein  Universitj  by  five  years,  and  in 
the  early  years  of  the  university  afforded  accom- 
modations for  gentlemen  students,  Kev.  William 
Slaughter  occupied  it  in  1851,  and  the  boys 
dubbed  it  the  "Slaughter  house."  Professor  John 
Haywood  stayed  at  this  hotel  when  he  began  his 
work  as  professor  of  mathematics.  The  author, 
as  a  student,  in  1853,  lodged  and  boarded  in  this 
hotel  when  it  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Bunyan 
Waters,  whose  widow  and  daughters  are  still  resi- 
dents of  Westerville.  He  also  had  his  home  in 
this  hotel  in  1854,  when  it  was  kept  by  Mr.  Isaac 
Clark,  who  later  sold  it  and  built  the  large  brick 
house  which  stands  almost  directly  east,  known 
as  the  Doctor  Hunt  house.  It  was  built  in  the 
front  middle  portion  of  an  apple  orchard  which 
then  occupied  the  ground.  The  southwest  corner 
of  State  and  Main  streets  is  also  an  old  hotel  cor- 
ner. One  of  the  early  landlords  was  a  Mr.  Rugg, 
and  another  was  John  Beal,  father  of  Wm.  Beal, 
who  resides  on  the  Avenue.  The  old  log  building, 
which  was  weather-boarded,  was  torn  down  in 
1890,  and  the  present  Hotel  Blendon  was  built 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Holmes  in  1891.  It  is  far  the 
best  hotel  building  Westerville  has  ever  had  and 
is  a  credit  to  the  town.  The  Redding  Block,  on 
State,  north  of  Main  Street,  where  the  restaurant 
and  Central  Hotel  are  now  conducted,  is  also 
one  of  the  early  hotels  of  Westerville.  The  Cly- 
mer  House,  which  was  wrecked  and  destroyed  in 
the  Westerville  Whisky  War  of  1879,  when  H. 
Corbin  kept  the  house  and  attempted  to  nm  a 

301 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

saloon  in  the  basement,  of  which  an  account  is 
given  in  a  previous  chapter,  stood  on  State  Street 
just  north  of  the  Westerville  Bank  building.  The 
Stoner  House  on  south  State  Street  was  built  for 
hotel  purposes,  but  was  long  ago  remodeled  for 
residence  purposes. 

The  health  of  Westerville  has  always  been  good. 
In  the  early  years  before  adequate  drainage  was 
provided,  and  before  there  was  a  board  of  health 
to  look  after  sanitary  conditions,  at  certain  seasons 
fevers  prevailed  to  some  extent;  but  for  many 
years  the  health  record  of  Westerville  has  been  re- 
markably good,  and  since  a  system  of  sanitary 
sewers  has  been  put  in  and  a  water-works  plant 
supplying  excellent  water  has  been  installed,  the 
health  conditions  have  been  unsurpassed.  Among 
the  physicians  who  have  practised  their  profession 
and  looked  after  the  health  of  the  people  here  may 
be  named  G.  W.  Landon,  A.  G.  Stevenson,  S.  H. 
ISTewcomb,  Thos.  McFadden,  Abner  Andrus,  D. 
W.  Coble,  Z.  F.  Guerin,  P.  F.  Eberly,  A.  O.  Blair, 
Giles  T.  Blair,  A.  W.  Jones,  C.  B.  Dickson,  J.  P. 
Hunt,  Chauncey  Landon,  H.  Ferguson,  G.  H. 
Mayhugh,  I.  N.  Smith,  and  Fraud  Andrus. 

The  first  cemetery,  like  the  first  church  and  the 
first  school-building,  was  on  the  State  Road  south 
of  Westerville,  and  is  called  the  Jamison  grave- 
yard. After  this  there  was  a  graveyard  estab- 
lished west  of  State  Street,  in  the  northwest  part 
of  town.  There  was  also  a  small  graveyard  in  what 
is  now  the  heart  of  the  town,  on  State  Street,  about 
where  the  Westerv^ille  Bank  building  now  stands. 
Otterbein  Cemetery,  at  the  south  end  of  Grove 

302 


Growth  and  Progress  in  Westerville 

Street,  was  established  by  an  association  in  the 
fifties  and  has  long  been  the  principle  place  of 
burial. 

Among  the  postmasters  were  Chas.  T,  Brush, 
W.  W.  Whitehead,  Henry  Dyxon,  John  Han- 
thorn,  Thos,  Jones,  Jas.  Westervelt,  J.  B.  Con- 
nelly, M.  H.  Mann,  J.  Heroun,  O.  R.  Bacon, 
David  Johnson,  G.  W.  Haynie,  J.  L.  Flickinger, 
Mrs.  M.  M.  Coggeshall,  W.  Rowe,  S.  E.  Fonts, 
F.  M.  Ranck,  S.  Chapman,  and  G.  L.  Stoughton, 
who  has  just  entered  upon  his  second  term  of 
service. 

The  business  of  Westerville  has  been  mainly 
such  as  the  needs  of  a  college  town  demanded, 
with  little  attention  to  manufacturing  industries. 
There  have  been  flouring  mills  from  an  early  date. 
The  Everal  Tile  Factory,  west  of  town,  dates  back 
to  1876,  and,  besides  tile,  manufactures  building 
block  and  a  superior  quality  of  brick.  The  Chris- 
tian Association  building  and  the  upper  stories  of 
Cochran  Hall  are  built  of  Everal  brick.  The  Ben- 
nett &  Company  Stump  Puller  Manufactory  be- 
gan in  1884,  and  ships  stump  pullers  to  many 
countries.  The  company  also  manufactures  tile 
ditchers  and  corn  harvesters.  The  Culver  Art 
and  Frame  Company  has  a  factory  on  east  Col- 
lege Avenue.  The  M.  C,  Lilly  Regalia  Company 
of  Columbus  maintains  a  shop  in  the  Weyant 
Block  which  gives  employment  to  a  number  of 
ladies.  The  ISTever-Rot  Post  Company,  besides 
cement  posts,  manufactures  cement  building 
blocks,  porch  posts,  etc.  Recently  a  l^ovelty 
Company   has    been    organized,    and    the    Taylor 

303 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Foundry  and  Machine  Company  is  now  erecting 
buildings  and  will  manufacture  castings  for  the 
Ralston  Steel  Car  Company  of  Columbus.  The 
real  estate  and  building  business  is  also  very- 
active,  and  a  larger  number  of  substantial  and 
beautiful  residences  are  building  than  ever  be- 
fore. 

During  the  entire  past  sixty  years,  the  one  all- 
important  and  dominating  interest  of  Westerville 
has  been  Otterbein  University,  and  this  interest 
has  largely  directed  and  shaped  the  growth  and 
progress  of  the  place.  When  it  was  incorporated 
in  1858,  John  Haywood,  a  professor  in  the  uni- 
versity, was  elected  as  the  first  mayor,  and  the 
very  first  ordinance  adopted  was  designed  to  as- 
sure the  moral  safety  and  welfare  of  the  citizens, 
and  now  on  this  sixtieth  anniversary  year  of  the 
university,  Mr.  Charles  Suavely,  another  pro- 
fessor,  holds  the  chief  place  of  honor  and  respon- 
sibility in  the  municipal  government.  It  is  the 
university  mainly  that  has  kept  Westerville  well 
to  the  front  in  the  march  of  material  improvement 
represented  in  modern  conveniences.  It  was  a 
determining  factor  in  securing  a  Bell  telephone 
line  and  toll  station  in  1889 ;  a  Citizen's  telephone 
line  and  exchange  in  1901,  and  Bell  exchange  in 
1906,  an  interurban  traction  line  in  1894,  one  of 
the  earliest  in  the  State ;  an  electric-light  plant  in 
1898 ;  a  natural  gas  line  in  1903,  and  water- 
works, sanitary  sewers,  and  paved  streets  in 
1904-05.  But  of  far  more  consequence  is  it  to 
say  that  Otterbein  University  has  been  a  control- 
ling factor   in   keeping  Westerville  well   to  the 

304 


Growth  aud  Progress  in  Westervillc 

front  in  intelligence,  morals,  and  religion  by  the 
character  of  the  citizens  it  has  helped  to  attract 
and  by  the  molding  and  culturing  influence  it  has 
exerted  in  building  up  an  ideal  college  community, 
a  safe  and  desirable  home  for  the  many  hundreds 
of  youth  who  throng  its  halls  from  year  to  year 
as  students,  and  so  a  safe  and  desirable  home  for 
anybody  else. 

The  location  of  the  university  in  a  small  place, 
away  from  the  distractions  and  temptations  of  the 
great  city,  commends  it  tO'  those  who  keenly  feel 
the  importance  of  guarding  our  youth  with  the  ut- 
most care  during  the  susceptible  and  formative 
period  spent  in  college,  that,  as  a  basis  for  an  ex- 
tensive and  worthy  service,  they  may  build  pure 
and  strong  characters.  At  the  same  time  its  loca- 
tion near  the  most  important  city  in  the  State,  the 
capital,  with  its  numerous  State  institutions  and 
its  teeming  and  rapidly-growing  population,  com- 
mends it  U)  those  who  feel  that  our  great  cities 
present  altogether  the  most  important  and  difficult 
problems,  which,  in  the  coming  years,  it  will  fall 
to  tlie  lot  of  those  trained  in  our  colleges  to  help 
solve.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  happy 
combination  of  the  educational  advantages  of  a 
small  and  large  place  than  Otterbein  University 
enjoys. 


305 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


APPENDIX  A. 


OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  FACULTY. 

1847-1907. 


Presidents. 
William  R.  Griffith  (Principal),  1847-49;  Rev.  William  Davis, 
1849-50 ;  Rev.  Lewis  Davis,  1850-57 ;  Rev.  Alexander  Owen, 
1858-60  ;  Rev.  Lewis  Davis,  1860-71  ;  Rev.  Daniel  Eberly,  1871- 
72  ;  Rev.  Henry  Adams  Thompson,  1872-86  ;  Rev.  Henry  Garst, 
1886-89  :  C.  A.  Bowersox.  1889-91  ;  Rev.  T.  J.  Sanders,  1891-01 : 
George   Scott,   1901-04  ;   Rev.   Lewis  Bookwalter,   1904  — . 

Professors  Emeritus. 

Rev.  Lewis  Davis,  1886-90 ;  John  Haywood,  1893-06  ;  Henry 
Garst,  1900—. 

Professors. 

Sylvester  S.  Dillman,  Mathematics  and  Natural  Science, 
1849-50 ;  William  R.  Griffith,  Ancient  Languages,  1849-52 ; 
Alexander  Bartlett,  Ancient  Languages,  1850-52 ;  John  Hay- 
wood, Mathematics  and  Natural  Science,  1851-58 :  James  A. 
Martling,  Ancient  Languages,  1852-53  ;  Ralph  Manning  Walker, 
Ancient  Languages,  1853-58 ;  Lucian  H.  Hammond,  Rhetoric 
and  BeUes-Lettres,  1857-58  :  Rev.  Sereno  W.  Streeter,  Intel- 
lectual Philosophy,  1857-58 ;  Lucian  H.  Hammond,  Greek, 
1858-62  ;  Ralph  M.  Walker,  Latin,  1858-62 ;  Rev.  Sereno  W. 
Streeter,  Rhetoric  and  Belles-Lettres,  1858-60 ;  John  Haywood, 
Mathematics,  1858-62,  1867-93 ;  Thomas  McFadden,  Natural 
Science,  1858-62,  1866-84  ;  Rev.  Julius  Degmeier,  Modern  Lan- 
guages, 1859-62 ;  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Allen,  Ancient  Languages, 
1862-65 ;  Rev.  Henry  A.  Thompson.  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Science,  1862-66  :  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Allen,  Greek,  1865-67  :  John 
E.  Guitner,  Latin,  1865-67 ;  Rev.  Henry  A.  Thompson,  Mathe- 
matics. 1866-67  ;  .lohn  E.  Guitner,  Ancient  Languages,  1867-69  ; 
John  B.  Guitner,  Greek.  1869-00 ;  Rev.  Henry  Garst,  Latin, 
1869-86 ;  William  L.  Todd,  Music,  1878-87  ;  Louis  H.  McFad- 
den, Natural  Science,  1884-98 ;  Rev.  William  J.  Zuck.  History 
and  English,  1884-85  ;  Rev.  William  J.  Zuck,  English  Language 
and  Literature,  1885-90,  1891-03 ;  Rev.  Henry  A.  Thompson, 
Logic  and  Rhetoric,  1886-87  ;  Miss  Josephine  Johnson,  Modern 
Languages,  1886-90,  1894-04 ;  George  Scott,  Latin,  1887  — ; 
Charles  E.  Davis,  Music,  1888-89 ;  Rev.  Henry  Garst,  Mental 
and  Moral  Science  and  English  Bible,  1889-00 ;  Frederick 
Nedderraeyer,  Music,  1889-91  ;  Miss  Florence  Cronise,  Modern 
Languages,  1890-94  ;  Robert  A.  Morrow,  Music,  1891-92  ;  W.  B. 
Klnnear,  Music,  1892-94  ;  Frank  E.  Miller,  Mathematics, 
1893  — :  Herman  Ebeling,  Music,  1894-95  ;  Gustav  Meyer, 
Music,  1895  — :  Louis  H.  McFadden,  Physics  and  Chemistry, 
1898  — ;  Thomas  Gilbert  McFadden,  Natural  Science,  1898-00 ; 
William  C.  Whitney.  Biology  and  Geology,  1900-04 ;  Charles 
Suavely,  History  and  Economics,  1900  — ;  Gustav  Meyer,  Com- 
parative Philology,  1901  — :  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Sanders,  Philos- 
ophy,  1901  — ;   Rev.   Noah  E.  Cornetet,  Greek,  1901  — ;   Sarah 

306 


Appendix  A 

M.  Sherrick,  English  Language  and  Literature,  1903  — ;  Alma 
Guitner,  German  Language  and  Literature,  1904  — ;  Edwin  B. 
Evans,  Rlietorie  and  Public  Speaking,  1906  — , 

Adjunct  Professors. 
John   E.   Guitner,   Languages,   1864-65 ;    Louis   H.   McFadden. 
Natural    Science,   1882-84 ;      Frank      E.      Miller,      Mathematics, 

Instructors. 
Jacob  Zeller,  Languages,  1857-57 ;  John  E.  Guitner,  Lan- 
guages, 1862-64  ;  Mrs.  Miriam  M.  Cole.  English  Literature, 
1873-74  ;  Michael  A.  Mess,  German,  1873-75  ;  M.  DeWitt  Long, 
Elocution,  1874-76 ;  John  X.  Zuber,  German,  1876-78 ;  Miss 
Cora  A.  McFadden,  English,  1883-84  ;  William  S.  Reese, 
Mathematics,  1883-84 ;  John  E.  Lehman,  Mathematics  and 
Latin.  1886-87  ;  Robert  K.  Porter,  Elocution,  1886-87  ;  Willing- 
ton  O.  Mills.  Mathematics,  1887-88 ;  David  F.  Fawcett,  His- 
tory, 1887-88  :  C.  C.  Waters,  History,  1889-90 ;  Rudolph  H. 
Wagoner,  Mathematics  and  Latin,  1889-90.  1893  — ;  Miss  Lela 
Guitner,  English,  1892-93 ;  Edwin  D.  Williams,  Elocution, 
1893-94  ;  Frank  S.  Fox.  Elocution,  1895-99 ;  M.  R.  Woodland, 
English.  1899-00 ;  W.  T.  Trump.  Civil  Government,  1899-00 ; 
Luda  B.  McNamee,  Elocution,  1899-01  ;  Miss  Alma  Guitner, 
German,  1900-04  ;  Miss  Emma  Guitner,  Greek,  1900-01  :  Miss 
Lavlna  P.  Shallenberger,  Elocution,  1901-02  ;  Edgar  W.  Mc- 
Mullen.  Mathematics.  1901-02  ;  Joseph  O.  Ervin,  Mathematics, 
1901-02:  Mrs.  Chestora  M.  Carr,  Elocution,  1902  —  ;  Miss 
Sarah  M.  Sherrick,  English  and  French,  1902-03  ;  Miss  Bertha 
S.  Fhck,  French,  1903 — ■ :  Edwin  Poe  Durrant,  Biology  and 
Geology,  1904  — ;  Lewis  E.  Myers,  English,  1904-06 ;  Lydia 
Oehlschlegel,  Mathematics,  1905-6. 

Principals  of  Preparatory  Department. 
(The  Academy  since  1900.) 
Edwin    L.    Shuey,    1881-85 ;    John   E.    Lehman,    1885-86 ;    Rev. 
Wilham  J.  Zuck.  1886-87  ;  Rev.  W.  J.  Johnson,  1888-90  ;  Frank 

E.  Miller,   1S90-93  ;   Rudolph   H.   Wagoner,   1893  — . 

Principals  of  Ladies'  Department. 
Miss  C.  Murray,  1847-48;  Miss  Sylvia  Carpenter,  1848-49, 
1851-52  ;  Miss  Lucy  Carpenter,  1849-50  :  Mrs.  Sylvia  Haywood, 
1852-54,  1855-56  ;  Miss  Martha  A.  Perrin,  1854-55  ;  Miss  Mary 
L.  Gilbert.  1856-62 ;  Mrs.  Lizzie  K.  Miller.  1862-63,  1864-09, 
1870-75  :  Miss  Melissa  A.  Haynie.  1863-64  ;  Miss  Clara  L.  Leib, 
1869-70 ;  Mrs.  Melissa  H.  Fisher,  1875-81  ;  Miss  Josephine 
Johnson,  1881-85  ;  Mrs.  J.  E.  Lehman,  1885-86 ;  Mrs.  Kate 
Hanby.   1886-87  ;   Miss  Emma  M.   Linton,   1887-89  ;   Miss   Emma 

F.  Burtner,  1889-90  ;  Miss  Tirza  L.  Barnes,  1890-98. 

Teachers  of  Music. 
Mrs.  Matilda  Gilruth  Carpenter,  Piano.  1852-53  :  Miss  Cor- 
nelia A.  Walker.  Instrumental,  1853-56.  1859-61 ;  John  Syler, 
Vocal  and  Instrumental.  1856-58:  Miss  Lizzie  A.  Pryor  In- 
strumental, 1862-63  ;  Miss  Lydia  M.  Winter.  Instrumental, 
1863-69 ;  John  M.  Bigger,  Instrumental,  1870-72  ;  Rev.  A 
Peckham,  Vocal,  1871-72  ;  Rev.  C.  A.  Bowersox,  Vocal,  1872-74  ; 
Benjamin  Naumborg.  Instrumental.  1873-74  ;  Miss  Ella  H.  Mor- 
rison, Instrumental,  1874-75  ;  Daniel  S.  Wymer,  Vocal,  1874-75  • 
Miss  Minnie  S.  King,  Instrumental,  1875-78 ;  E.  S.  Lorenz, 
Vocal.  1876-80 :  Miss  Laura  E.  Rosier,  Vocal,  1881-82 ;  O  E. 
McFadon,  Vocal,  1882-83  ;  Mrs.  A.  Ewing,  Vocal,  1883-83  ;  Miss 
Lydia  K.  Resler,  Vocal.  1884-87 ;  Mrs.  W.  L.  Todd,  Instru- 
mental, 1887-88  ;  Miss  Nellie  Fllckinger,  Instrumental,  1887-88  • 


307 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

Miss  E.  Prockie  Coggeshall,  Vocal,  1887-88 :  Jacob  Goehl.  In- 
strumental, 1887-88 ;  Carl  Schoppelrei,  Instrumental,  1888-89 ; 
Mrs.  W.  Y.  Miles,  Voice,  1889-90 ;  Miss  Elsie  A.  Merrlman, 
Voice,  1890-91 ;  Mrs.  W.  L.  Todd,  Piano,  1890-91  ;  John  P. 
Ransom,  Voice,  1891-92  ;  Miss  Emma  Ebeling,  Piano,  1894-95  ; 
Miss  Susan  K.  Rike,  Voice,  1894-95 ;  Miss  Zora  E.  Wheeler, 
Voice,  1895-96 ;  M.  Luther  Peterson,  Voice,  1890-97  ;  Miss 
Lillian  Miller,  Voice,  1897-98  ;  Miss  Martha  A.  Roloson,  Piano, 
1897-98 ;  Robert  Eckhardt,  Violin,  1897-98 ;  Miss  Nannie  S. 
Andrews,  Voice,  1898-00 ;  John  S.  Bayer,  Violin,  1898-99, 
1901-02 ;  Miss  Ludema  A.  Van  Anda,  Mandolin  and  Guitar, 
1898  — ;  John  D.  Miller,  Violin,  1899-00 ;  Clarence  R.  New- 
man. Voice,  1900-03  ;  Edgar  S.  Weinland,  Clarinet,  1900-02 ; 
Miss  Jessie  E.  Banks.  Violin,  1900-01 ;  Carl  Helmstctter,  Leader 
of  Band,  1900-03  ;  Miss  Daisy  Maude  Watkins,  Piano,  1902-04  ; 
Herbert  G.  Eagleson,  Violin,  1902-04  ;  Lula  May  Baker,  Piano, 
1903  — :  Mrs.  Alice  Turner,  Voice,  1903-04;  John  A.  Bend- 
inger,  Voice,  1903  —  :  Chester  Scott,  Leader  of  Band,  1903-04  ; 
Frederic  Dubois,  Violin,  1904  — ;  Maude  Hanawalt,  Piano, 
1905-6  ;  Glenn  G.  Grabill,  1905  — . 


Teachers  of  Painting  and  Draicing. 

Mrs.  H.  E.  Thompson,  1862-68.  1872-93  :  Mrs.  Isabel  Sevier 
Scott,  1893  — ;  Miss  Bertha  A.  Monroe,  Pyrography,  1899-01, 
1903  — :  Miss  Grace  Wallace,  China  Painting,  1901-02 ;  Miss 
Mny  B-eile  Collins,  Pyrography,  1902-03  ;  Daisy  Clifton,  Art, 
1905—. 


Librarians. 

Henry  Garst.  1S72-75,  1876-78  ;  Thomas  McFadden,  1875-76, 
1878-83 ;  L.  H.  McFadden,  1883-84 ;  W.  J.  Zuck,  1884-86, 
1900-02 ;  J.  E.  Lehman,  1886-87 ;  J.  E.  Guitner,  1887-95 ; 
George  Scott.  1895-00 ;  Miss  Tirza  L.  Barnes,  1898  — ;  Wil- 
liam C.  Whitney,  1902-04. 


Teachers  of  Penmanship. 

Charles    M.    Baldwin,    1874-78 ;     P.     F.    Wilkinson,  1879-81, 

1882-84  :   W.   C.      Reese.   1881-82  :   William   P.   Walter,  1888-89 ; 

Edgar    G.    Brandt,    1892-93 :    John    F.    Nave,    1893-94,  1899-00 ; 
Charles  W.   O'Brien,    1896-97. 


Teachers  of  Bookkeeping,  Stenography,  and  Typeicriting. 

L.  J.  Lunn,  1889-90 :  Miss  Teresa  Maxwell,  1890-92 :  Miss 
Alice  K.  Bender.  1892-95  ;  William  Slemmer.  1899-00 ;  Burton 
E.  Parker,  1900-03 :  Mrs.  Isora  Parker,  1900-03 ;  Theodore 
Davis.  1901-02 ;  Charles  R.  Frankham,  Commercial  Law, 
1902-03  ;   P.   F.   Wilkinson,   1904  — . 


Directors  of  Physical  Culture. 

Miss  E.  Luella  Fouts,  1894-96,  1897-98,  1899-00 ;  Hanby  R. 
Jones,  1897-98 :  David  J.  Good,  1898-00 :  Miss  Tallmadge  A. 
Rickey.  1900-04  ;  Chester  C.  Vale,  1900-01  ;  Joseph  O.  Ervin, 
1900-03  ;  Hersey  R.  Keene,  1903  — :  Nellis  R.  Funk,  1903-04  ; 
Miss  Olivia  Milne,  1904-06  ;  Frank  Eyman,  1905-6  ;  J.  E.  Kalm- 
bach,   1906 — . 

308 


Appendix  A 

FACULTY  AND  INSTRUCTORS,  1906-07. 

Lewis  Bookwalter,  A.M.,   D.D.,  LL.D.,   President 

Westerville    Cliair 

♦John  Haywood,   LL.D Professor   Emeritus 

Henry   Garst,   D.D Professor   Emeritus 

Louis  H.    McFadden,    A.M 

Mercliant   Professor  of   Physics  and   Chemistry 

George    Scott,    Lltt.D.,    Ph.D.,    LL.D.,    Vice-President 

..Flickinger  Professor  of  Latin  Language  and  Literature 

Frank  E.  Miller,  Ph.D Dresbach  Professor  of  Mathematics 

Rev.  Thomas  J.  Sanders,  Ph.D.  .  Hulitt  Professor  of  Philosophy 
Rudolph    H.    Wagoner,    A.M Instructor    of 

Latin  and  Mathematics.  Principal  of  the  Academy 
Gustav  Meyer,   Ph.D Professor 

of  Comparative  Philology.     Du-ector  of  the  Conservatory 

Charles  Snavely,  Ph.D Professor  of  History  and  Economics 

Isabel  Sevier  Scott   Principal  of  the  Art  Department 

Tirza  L.   Barnes,   B.S Librarian 

Alma  Guitner,   A.M 

.  . .  Ilively  Professor  of  German  Language  and  Literature 
Rev.   Noah    E.    Cornetet,   A.M Professor 

of    Greek    Language    and    Literature.      College    Registrar 

Sarah  M.   Sherrlck,  Ph.D Professor  of  English  Literature 

Lula  May  Baker,  A.B Instructor  in  Piano 

Frederick  Dubois .  .  Instructor  in  Violin  and  Leader  of  Orchestra 
Edwin   Poe   Durant,   A.M Professor 

of  Biology  and  Geology.  Registrar  of  the  Academy 
Alzo  Pierre  Rosselot.  A.B Instructor  in  Romance 

Languages  and  Literature.     Secretary     of     the     Faculty 

Glenn  Grant  Grabill    Assistant  in  Piano 

Alfred  R.  Barrlngton    Instructor  in  Voice 

Daisy'    Clifton    Assistant    in    Art 

Lydia  Oehlschlegel,  A.B Tutor  in  Mathematics 

Edwin   Barlow    Evans,   A.B 

Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  Public  Speaking 

J.  E.  Kalmbach,  B.S Physical  Culture  and  Athletics 

Anna  V.  Zeller   Matron  of  Cochran  Hall 

Rev.  Samuel  F.  Daugherty,  A.B.,  B.D College  Pastor 


♦Died  December  12,  1906. 

309 


History  of  Otterbein  University 


APPENDIX  B. 


FINANCIAL  OFFICERS,  AGENTS,  AND  OTHER  EMPLOYEES 

OF  OTTERBEIN  UNIVERSITY, 

1847-1907. 

Executive  Committee. 
(Styled  Prudential  Committee  after  1859.) 
Rev.  Lewis  Davis,  1851-52,  1854-70 ;  Rev.  William  Hauby, 
18o4-70  ;  Rev.  John  Lawrence,  1851-52  :  Rev.  William  Slaughter 
1854-56,  1858-59;  Rev.  J.  C.  Bright,  1854-61;  Rev.  D.  K 
Flickinger,  1854-55 ;  Rev.  A.  Miller,  1854-57 ;  Rev.  A.  Winter 
1855-57 ;  Rev.  Peter  Tabler.  1855-57  :  Thomas  McFadden, 
1855-62  ;  John  Wagner,  1855-56,  1869-70 ;  John  Haywood, 
1856-59,  1868-69  ;  Rev.  Peter  Flack.  1856-58  ;  Ralph  M.  Walker 
1856-57  ;  S.  W.  Dempsey,  1856-57  ;  I.  A.  Coons,  1857-58  ;  Daniel 
Guitner,  1857-59,  1861-67  :  John  Knox,  1857-58,  1867-70 
1873-79,  1892-96  ;  Rev.  William  Fisher,  1857-58  ;  Rev.  Jonathan 
Weaver,  1857-58,  1861-68  ;  H.  McCnne,  1858-59  ;  Samuel  Hively, 
1859-61 ;  Rev.  John  Walter,  1862-63  ;  Rev.  S.  Lindsey,  1863-66  • 
J.  F.  Snoddy,  1863-64,  1879-86;  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Allen,  1863-05, 
1866-67  ;  Rev.  J.  B.  Resler,  1866-70.  1874-75,  1878-79,  1886-87  ' 
Rev.  M.  Bulger,  1870-72 ;  John  Helpman,  1870-73,  1874-75, 
1878-83  ;  Ervin  Moore.  1870-73  ;  Isaac  Speer,  1872-74  ;  Rev.  A. 
McDannel,  1873-74  :  Rev.  J.  M.  Spangler,  1875-77 :  Rev  Wm 
McKee,  1875-78 ;  Rev.  W.  J.  Shuey,  1879-84,  1898-00  ;  Rev. 
HenryGarst,  1879-89, 1891-98.  1900-05;  D.  Shisler.  1879-80  ;  Rev 
D.  R.  Miller,  1880-82,  1883-85,  1900-02  ;  J.  A.  Weinland,  1882-90 
1893-00  ;  D.  L.  Rike,  1884-95  ;  A.  B.  Kohr,  1885-87  ;  Dr.  A  W 
Jones,  1887-89  :  J.  W.  Markley,  1887-92  ;  Rev.  C.  A.  Bowersox. 
1889-91  ;  Rev.  C.  W.  Miller,  1890-92  ;  Rev.  T.  J.  Sanders,  1891- 
01 ;  Rev.  S.  M.  Hlppard,  1892-93 ;  Rev.  W.  J.  Zuck,  1895-00 ; 
W.  O.  Baker,  1896-98.  1900-01,  1903  —  ;  E.  L.  Weinland 
1898  —  ;  F.  E.  Miller,  1898-00;  John  Gerlaugh,  1898-00;  L.  II 
McFadden,  1901-02  ;  George  W.  Bright,  1901-03  :  George  Scott. 
1902-04  ;  L.  D.  Bonebrake,  1902-03  ;  Frederick  Riebel.  1903-05 
Lewis  Bookwalter,  1904  — ;  Rev.  W.  R.  Funk,  1905  — ;  F  H 
Rike,  1905—.  .  r.   n. 

Board    of  Directors    of   Endoicment   Fund — 1858-1859. 
Peter  Tabler,     1858-59 ;     James     Langham,     1858-59 :     Peter 
Flack.   1858-59 ;  J.   Souder,  1858-59 ;   John  Dorcas,   1858-59. 

General  Financial  Agents — 1859-1879. 
Rev.   Levi   Moore,   1859-61 ;   Rev.   Jonathan   Weaver,    1861-62, 
1863-65  ;  Rev.   Solomon  Lindsev,   1865-66 ;   Rev.  J.   M.   Spangler 
1866-70  ;  Rev.  J.  B.  Resler,  1870-73  ;  Rev.  D.  Bender,  1873-79. 

General  Financial  Agents  and  Treasurers — 1879-189^. 
Rev.  S.  M.  Hlppard,  1879-92  ;  Rev.  C.  W.  Miller,  1892-94. 

Soliciting  Agents — 18i6-1902. 
Rev.   Lewis   Davis,    1846-59 :    Rev.    John    Lawrence.    1848-49 ; 
Rev.   William   Slaughter,  1851-59 ;   Rev.   Peter  Tabler,   1854-57 ; 

310  ' 


Appendix  B 

Kev.  Solomon  Weaver,  1854-55  ;  H.  Hain,  1854-55  ;  Rev.  A. 
Winter,  1855-56 ;  Rev.  William  Hanby,  1856-57 ;  Rev.  Henry 
Kumler,  1856-57  ;  Rev.  J.  B.  Resler,  1856-57,  1869-70,  1883-85  ; 
Rev.  Jonathan  Weaver,  1857-59,  1862-63 ;  Rev.  W.  G.  Wells, 
1856-57  ;  Rev.  Peter  Flack,  1856-59  ;  I.  A.  Coons,  1857-58  ;  Rev. 
B.  R.  Hanby,  1857-59  ;  Rev.  John  Walter,  1862-63 ;  Rev.  M. 
Bulger.  1868-69  ;  Rev.  Levi  Moore,  1868-70  ;  Rev.  W.  D.  Trover, 
1868-69  ;  Rev.  J.  M.  Spangler,  1870-71  ;  Rev.  D.  Bender,  1871- 
73 ;  Rev.  D.  R.  Miller,  1871-78  ;  Rev.  C.  W.  Miller,  1873-78, 
1882-84  ;  Rev.  J.  A.  Crayton,  1878-79  ;  J.  L.  Morrison,  1883-87  ; 
Rev.  B.  Barnard,  1885-86 :  Rev.  S.  H.  Raudebaugh.  1887-88 ; 
Rev.  Columbus  Hall,  1888-89 ;  Rev.  C.  Whitney,  1889-94  ;  Rev. 
W.  B.  Leggett,  1890-91  ;  Rev.  S.  B.  Ervin,  1891-92  ;  Rev.  F.  P. 
Sanders,  1899-00  ;  Rev.  L.  Keister,  1900-01. 

Field  Agents. 
Rev.  W.  W.  Rymer,  1902-04  ;  Rev.  G.  P.  Macklln,  1906-07. 

Treasurers. 
Thomas  McFadden,  1858-62  ;  Daniel  Guitner,  1862-66,  1870- 
71  :  George  W.  Haynie,  1866-69  ;  J.  E.  Guitner,  1869-70  ;  W.  O. 
Guitner,  1871-72  ;  H.  A.  Guitner,  1872-74  ;  Henry  Garst,  1874- 
79  :  W.  J.  Zuck,  1894-00  ;  Henry  Garst,  1900-05  ;  W.  O.  Baker, 
1905  — . 

General  Financial  Secretaries. 
Henry   A.    Guitner,    1870-71 ;    Isaac    Speer,    1871-72  ;      J.      B. 
Guitner,   1874-77  ;   John   Haywood.    1877-79 ;   W.    J.   Zuck,   1892- 
00  ;  Henry  Garst,   1900-05  ;  W.  O.   Baker,   1905  — . 

Secretaries  of  Prudential  Committee. 
John    Haywood,    1879-82 ;    J.    E.    Guitner,    1882-84  ;    W.    J. 
Zuck,    1884-86,     1891-00 ;     L.    H.     McFadden,     1886-91  ;     Henry 
Garst,  1900-05  ;  W.  O.  Baker,  1905-. 

Executive  Committee  of  the  Finance  Committee — 189^-1898. 
George    W.    Hartzell,    1894-95  ;    D.    L.    Rike,    1894-95  :    S.    B. 
Kumler,   1894-98  ;   W.   J.    Shuey,   1894-98  ;   F.   H.   Rike,   1894-98  ; 
John  Gerlaugh,   1895-98  ;  A.   B.   Shauck,   1896-98. 

Conservatory  Board  of  Control — 1895-1902 
Edgar  L.   Weinland.  1895-02 ;   John  A.   Shauck,   1895-02  ;   Ed- 
win D.  Resler,  1895-00  ;  Frank  O.  Clements,  1898-02. 

Stewards — 1856-1898. 
(After  1881,  Matrons  of  Ladies'   Hall.) 

Samuel  Hively,  1856-57  ;  C.  A.  Redding,  1558-61 ;  Isaac  Win- 
ter, 1861-66  ;  Rev.  S.  Lee,  1867-69 ;  Rev.  J.  K.  Billheimer, 
1869-70  ;  Isaac  Speer,  1871-77  ;  Mrs.  Caroline  Merchant,  1877- 
80 ;  Mrs.  N.  W.  Peet,  1880-81 :  Mrs.  B.  S.  Downey,  1881-83 ; 
Miss  C.  A.  Antrim,  1883-98 ;  Cochran  Hall,  Anna  V.  Zeller, 
1907  — . 

Janitors. 

William  Jones.  1872-76 ;  Uriah  W.  Reed.  1876-79 ;  John  R. 
Williams,  1879-81 ;  Francis  M.  Ranck.  1881-88 ;  Charles  A. 
Dehnhoff,  1888-92  ;  Lylle  B.  McMillen,  1892-02  ;  W.  G.  Mathews, 
1895-02 ;  James  Earl  Mattoon,  1902  — ;  Eugene  C.  Worman, 
1902-03 :  Hiram  M.  Worstell,  1902-03 ;  Oris  Suver,  1902-03  ; 
Philip  Luh,  1902  — ;  Alzo  P.  Rosselot,  1903-04  ;  Lewis  W. 
Warson,  1903-05  ;  Lafe  P.  Cooper,  1904  — ;  Philip  Luh, 
1905  — ;  Jas.  O.  Cox,  1905  —  ;  G.  W.  Duckwall,  1906—. 

311 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

CORPORATION— BOARD  OP  TRUSTEES. 

President. 
F.   H.   Rike,   A.B.,  Dayton. 

Secretan/. 
H.  Garst,  D.D.,  Westerville. 

Allegheny  Conference. 

Term  Expires. 

Lawrence  Keister,  D.D.,  Mt.  Tleasant,  Pa September,  1908 

C.   E.   Mullin,   Mt.   Pleasant,   Pa September,  1909 

John  Thomas,  Sr.,  Johnstown,  Pa September,  1910 

East  Ohio  Conference. 

Rev.   J.    H.   Miller,   Alliance September,  1908 

A.   A.   Moore,   Barberton    September,   1910 

Rev.  W.  S.  White,  A.B.,  Conneaut   September,  1912 

Erie  Conference. 

Rev.  A.   Meeker,   Grand  Valley,   Pa September,  1907 

Rev.    Geo.    McCullouch,    Bradford,    Pa September,  1909 

Rev.  I.  Bennehoff,  Fredonia,   N.  Y September,  1911 

Mia m  i  Con ference. 

Rev.  P.  M.  Camp,  A.M.,  Dayton August,  1907 

E.   Jay   Rogers,    Dayton    August,  1909 

Robert  E.  Kline,  A.B.,  Dayton August,  1911 

Michigan  Conference. 

I.   J.   Bear,   West   Carlisle,   Mich September,  1907 

Rev.  W.   D.   Stratton,  Ph.D.,   Petoskey,   Mich ...  September,  1909 

Rev.   C.   E.   Pilgrim,   Grand   Rapids,   Mich September,  1911 

West  Virginia  Conference. 

Rev.  A.  H.  Reese,   Huntington,  W.  Va September,  1907 

Rev.  F.  G.  Radabaugh.  Wilbur,  W.  Va September,  1909 

Prof.  W.  O.  Mills,  A.M.,  Buckhannon,  W.  Va.  .  September,  1911 

Sandusky  Conference. 

D.  R.   Miller,   D.D.,   Dayton September,  1907 

H.  T.   Shuil,   Vanlue    September,  1909 

W.  O.   Fries,  A.M.,   D.D.,   Dayton September,  1911 

Southeast  Ohio  Conference. 

E.  S.    Neuding.    Circleville    September,  1907 

John   Hulitt,  llillsboro    September,  1909 

Rev.  George  Geiger,  Westerville    September,  1911 

St.  Joseph  Conference. 

Rev.   J.  W.   Eby,   Walkeron.   Ind September,  1907 

Rev.    S.   P.    Klotz,   Waterloo.    Ind September,  1909 

Rev.  J.  W.  Lake,  Bremen,  Ind September,  1911 

Trustees  at  Large. 

G.   A.   Lambert.   Anderson,    Ind June,  1907 

Fred  H.  Rike.  A.B..  Dayton    June,  1909 

J.   W.   Ruth,   Scottdale.   Pa June,  1909 

Jos.    J.    Knox.   Westerville    June,  1909 

G.  W.  Kretzinger,  LL.D.,  Chicago,  111 June,  1909 

John  Thomas,  Jr.,  A.B.,  Johnstown,  Pa June,  1909 

312 


Appendix  B 

W.   R.  Punk.   D.D.,  Dayton    June,  1910 

George  W.   Bright,  Columbus    June,  1010 

S.   S.   Hough,   D.D.,   Dayton    June,  1910 

Aluinnal  Association. 

Prof.    A.    B.    Shauck,   B.S.,    Dayton    1907 

F.  O.   Clements,   A.M.,   Dayton 1907 

John  Detweller,   M.D.,   Uniontown,   Pa 1907 

Charles    M.    Rogers,    A.M.,    Columbus 1908 

Henrj    Garst.    D.D.,    Westerville    1908 

H.   F.   Detweiler,  A.M..  Uniontown.   Pa 1908 

George  M.   Mathews,   D.D.,   Chicago,    III 1909 

Hon.    Lewis   D.   Bonebrake,   LL.D.,   Columbus    1909 

Edgar  L.  Welnland,  Ph.B.,  Columbus 1909 

PRUDENTIAL    COMMITTEE. 

1906-07. 
Lewis  Bookwalter,   D.D.,   Chairman. 

E.   L.   Welnland,  Ph.B.,  LL.B.,  Secretary. 
W.  n.  Funk,  D.D.  F.  H.  Rike,  A.B. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
W.  O.  Baker. 

Janitors. 
James  E.  Mattoon.  L.  P.  Cooper. 

Philip   Luh. 
Geo.  W.  Duckwall.  James^  O.   Cox. 

KNOX-PLAN   PLEDGES. 

Taken   between   the  adjournment   of  the   Board  of   Trustees   of 

Otterbeln   University,   June  14,   1893,   and  its 

Adjournment  June  14,  1894. 

ALLEGHEXY    CONFERENCE. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  F.  Stoner,  Scottdale,  Pa $  500  00 

John  Thomas'   Sons,  Johnstown,  Pa 500  00 

Rev.    Lawrence    Keister,    Wilkinsburg,    Pa 500  00 

C.  E.  Mullln,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Pa 1,000  00 

Solomon    Keister,    Summit    Mines,    Pa 1,500  00 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Mullin,  Mt.   Pleasant,  Pa 500  00 

Rev.  Henry  Shoemaker  and  wife,  Dick,  Pa 700  00 

Mt.  Pleasant,  Pa.,  United  Brethren  Church,  per  C.  E. 

Mullin    1.075  00 

J.   W.   Ruth,   Scottdale,    Pa 1,500  00 

Rev.   H.   F.   Shupe   100  00 

Solomon    Stoner     200  00 

John  Thomas,  Johnstown,   Pa 2,500  00 

J.    Ankeny    50  00 

AUGLAIZE    CONFERENCE. 

Jacob  Sarver  and  Son,  Spring  Hill,  Ohio 500  00 

Elisha    Lollar,    Saratoga,    Ind 500  00 

Mrs.   Jean   Reid.   Sidney,    0 500  00 

Rev.    R.    W.    Wllgus    100  00 

Rev.  J.  P.   Stewart    50  00 

Rev.    Isaiah    Imier    100  00 

313 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

CENTRAL    OHIO    CONFBEBKCB. 

Wm.  M.  Dwyer  and  wife,  Westerville,  O S  500  00 

Prof.   F.   B.   Miller,   Westerville,   0 500  00 

Prof    J.  E.   Guitner,   Westerville,  0 500  00 

J.  A.  Weinland,  Westerville,  0 500  00 

Pres.  T.  J.  Sanders,  Westerville,  0 500  00 

John   Knox,    Westerville,   0 1,000  00 

John  R.   Williams,   Westerville,   Ohio    500  00 

J.   L.   Morrison,   Westerville,   0 500  00 

Joseph   Markley,    Westerville,   Ohio    500  00 

S.    S.    Rickley,    Columbus,   Ohio    1,000  00 

Lewis  Guun,   Marion,  Ohio    500  00 

Westerville  U.   B.   Sunday   School    2,500  00 

Class  of  1894,  Otterbein  University    1,000  00 

Maria  C.  Flicklnger,  Atwood,  111 1,000  00 

Henry   A.   Flicklnger,   Atwood,    111 500  00 

Prof.  L.  H.  McFadden,  Westerville,  0 250  00 

Prof.  W.  J.  Zuck,  Westerville,  0 250  00 

Westerville    Citizens     1,000  00 

Canal  Winchester  Sunday  School    185  62 

Rev.  Thos.  Kohr,  Westerville,  0 50  00 

Otterbein  University  Band,  Westerville,  0 100  00 

F.  M.  Ranck,  Westerville,  0 100  00 

Mrs.  H.  C.  Roland,  Westerville,  0 100  00 

Rev.   H.   A.   Bovey,   Westerville.   0 100  00 

Rose  Fonts  and  sister,  Westerville,  0 50  00 

Rev.  D.  Bonebrake,  Westerville,  0 25  00 

Philip  Farver,   Westerville.   0 50  00 

Dr.   A,   W.   Jones,   Westerville,   0 100  00 

Prof.  W.  B.   Kinnear,  Westerville,  0 100  00 

EAST    OHIO    CONFERENCE. 

Jacob    B.    Sherrick,    deceased    1,000  00 

Christian  Snavelv,   Pi2;eon  Run,  0 500  00 

Rev.  O.  W.   Slusser,  Akron,  0 6  50 

Mrs.   Christian   Snavely,  Pigeon  Run,  0 100  00 

MIAMI    CONFERENCE. 

Rev.  C.  W.  Miller.  Westerville,  0 500  00 

Fred  H.  Rike,   Dayton,   0 1,000  00 

E.    L.    Shuey,    Dayton,    0 500  00 

S.    E.    Kumler,   Dayton,    0 3,000  00 

I.    G.    Kumler,    Dayton.    0 1,000  00 

R.   C.    Kumler,   Dayton,   0 500  00 

John  A.   Shauck,  Dayton,  0 1.500  00 

John  A.  Gilbert  family,  Dayton,  0 1,000  00 

Prof.  Henrv  Garst,  Westerville,  0 1,000  00 

George  Ilartzell,   Greenville,  0 1,000  00 

H.    Albright,    Greenville.    0 500  00 

Henry   Markley,   Sweet  Wine.   0 1,000  00 

Geo.  Zeller,  Germantown,  0 500  00 

Joseph  Shank,  Germantown,  0 1,000  00 

John   Shank   and   wife,   Germantown,   0 1,000  00 

J.  A.  Coover,   Spanker,   Ohio    500  00 

Miss  Kate  Emrick,  Middletown,  0 500  00 

Miss   Minerva   Willey,   Ross,   0 1,000  00 

Mrs.  Dr.  J.  E.  Lowes,  Dayton,  0 500  00 

A    Friend    (guaranteed)     1,000  00 

Vandalla    Sunday    School    500  00 

Summit   Street  Sunday   School,  Dayton,  0 1,000  00 

Germantown  Sunday  School    1,000  00 

Dayton  First  U.  B.  Church  Sunday  School   1,276  00 

Geo.   A.   Lambert,   Union   City,   Ind 1,000  00 

Arthur  and  John  Gerlaugh,  Harshman,  0 1,000  00 

A.  and  A.  Leas,  West  Manchester,  0 500  00 

314 


Appendix  B 

Joseph  Sater  and  J.  S.  Wakefield,  Preston,  O ?  1,000  00 

D.  L.   Rike,   Dayton,  0 6,500  00 

Rev.   W.  J.   Shuey,  Dayton,  0 1,000  00 

A   Friend,   cash    500  00 

Mrs.   B.   F.   Witt,   Dayton,   0 100  00 

Mrs.   S.   K.  Kumler,   Dayton,  0 50  00 

Miss  Susie  K.  Rike,  Dayton,  0 50  00 

Robert  Kline,  Dayton,  0 150  00 

Samuel   Judy,   Germantown,   0 100  00 

Miss  Mary  Bittle,  Lewisburg,  0 50  00 

Cash.   Rev.   W.   J.    Pruner 61  10 

E.  E.   Flickinger    25  00 

Antioch    Sunday    School    161  00 

Miss  Etta  Wolfe,  Dayton,  0 50  00 

Beavertown    Sunday    School    108  65 

Miami  Conference  S.   S.  Association    100  00 

Amos  Fellers.   Dayton,   0 50  00 

Rev.  E.  E.   Saul,  Dayton,  Ohio    35  00 

Oliver  F.  Gilbert,  Dayton,  Ohio   521  50 

A.  W    Gump.  Dayton,  0 200  00 

D.  K.  Zeller,   Richmond,   Ind 200  00 

James,  Fellers,   Dayton,   0 50  00 

B.  F.   Stoner,   Sulphur  Grove,  0 50  00 

Adam.    Horine,    Castine,    0 100  00 

H.   C.    Hunt,   Miamisburg,   0 100  00 

Mlamisburg  U.   B.   Sunday  School    100  00 

Rev.    C.    W.    Kurtz    12  37 

Mt.  Zion  Sunday  School    Ill  00 

Isaiah  Wilson,   Dayton,  0 50  00 

Mrs.  Henry  P.  Kumler,  Dayton,  0 100  00 

Henry  B.  Shoup,  Dayton,  0 60  00 

L.  A.   Thompson,  Dayton,  0 3  00 

NOnXH   OHIO   CONFERENCE. 

Rev.  S.   P.  Klotz,  Waterloo,  Ind 500  00 

Rev.     Chas.     A.      Bowersox     and     Samuel     Jarvis, 

Bryan,    0 500  00 

Geo.  Perry  and  wife.  La  Otto,  Ind 500  00 

ERIE    CONFERENCE. 

A.    Holeman    100  00 

MICHIGAN    CONFERENCE. 

Cornelius  Howard,   Schoolcraft,  Mich 50  00 

SANDUSKY    CONFERENCE. 

Rev.  Wilson  Martin,  Columbus  Grove,  0 1,500  00 

Rev.  D.   R.   Miller,  Dayton,   0 100  00 

Mrs.   C.   Beaver,   Fostoria,   0 1,000  00 

Rev.  G.  L.  Bender,  Harpter,  O 100  00 

SCIOTO    CONFERENCE. 

John    Hulitt,    Rainsboro,    0 7,000  00 

W.  H.  Wright,   Rainsboro,  Ohio    100  00 

ST.    JOSEPH    CONFERENCE. 

Bishop  N.  Castle,  Elkhart,  Ind 1,000  00 

E.  E.  Richards,  Roanoke,   Ind 500  00 

S.    H.   Zent.   Roanoke,    Ind 500  00 

Wm.  D.   Hays,   Ligonier,  Ind 500  00 

D.  A.  Richter,   Ligonier,   Ind 500  00 

Ligonier   Sunday    School    500  00 

C.  E.    Shaffer    100  00 

Annanias    Bughman    38  90 

315 


History  of  Otterbein  University 

OHIO   GEEMAN    CONFERENCE. 

G.    Fritz    $  10  00 

North  Dayton   Sunday  School    4  00 

J.  Renensiger,  Toledo,  0 11  26 

J.   Floerbe,   Portsmouth,   O 6  00 

UNCLASSIFIED. 

Woman's  Cooperative  Circle   5,000  00 

George  H.  Bonebrake,  Los  Angeles,  Cal 500  00 

Capt.  Morris  Schaff,  Pittsfleld,  Mass.,  cash    200  00 

W.   P.   Harford    100  00 

Cash     100 

J.  W.  Clereus,  Berlin,  Ontario   50  00 

Pioneer  Mission,  per  N.  W.  Smith 4  75 

Total     $85,612  14 


316 


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g>***^-- 

mtm^^ 

HIGHSMITH  W 

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In  USA 

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Otterbein  university,  1847-lVU/, 


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